Cessation of all activities is called Pralaya (प्रलय). The Sanskrit word Pralaya means dissolution or annihilation.
There are many types of Pralaya.
There are many types of Pralaya.
Vedas say when God embraces the jeev. That embrace is so full of bliss that the mind falls unconscious and this is when dreamless sound sleep happens. This state is known as Sushupti (सुषुप्ति) and that period of time is known as Naityik pralaya (नैत्यिक प्रलय).
At the end of uttaranyan (day of Creator Brahma) he sleeps for dakshinayan (night of Creator Brahma). This is called dainandin pralaya (दैनंदिन प्रलय). At this time the Brahmand stays but everything inside the Brahmand is annihilated.
At the end of creator Brahma's life (see article Kaal-Time), the Brahmand totally annihilated. All the living beings in the brahmand merge into Brahma-Supreme God. The water permeates three-fourths of the brahmand and creator Brahma also merges in the infinite belly of Brahma-Supreme God. This pralaya is called prakrit pralaya (प्राकृत प्रलय)
Atyantik means forever. From the moment a jeev attains mukti (liberation) the jeev is liberated from the crutches of Maya it is called atyantik pralaya (आत्यन्तिक प्रलय). After death he gets no body or mind, the soul remains absorbed in Brahma-Supreme God.
When Brahma-Supreme God sleeps in shupti (सुप्ति) state, everything which is material merges into Maya or Prakriti and all the souls merge into the infinite belly of Brahma-Supreme God. This is called maha pralaya (महा प्रलय).
There are innumerable creator Brahma one for each of the innumerable brahmands. During this time all brahmands along with their Creators merge in Brahma-Supreme God.
There are innumerable creator Brahma one for each of the innumerable brahmands. During this time all brahmands along with their Creators merge in Brahma-Supreme God.
In khand pralaya (खन्ड प्रलय) or ansh pralaya (अंश प्रलय) parts of the creation are destroyed due to natural disasters like tornadoes, volcanoes, earthquakes, meteor hits, tsunamis, cyclones, hurricanes etc. This does not have any fixed time of occurrence.
During all these pralaya only the material worlds are impacted. The divine world remains totally unimpaired by all forms of pralaya.
During all these pralaya only the material worlds are impacted. The divine world remains totally unimpaired by all forms of pralaya.
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