Pralaya

Pralaya (Sanskrit: प्रलय, lit. 'destruction'), in Hindu cosmology, is an aeonic term for dissolution.

For ships of this name, see INS Pralaya.
"Proloy" redirects here. For the 2013 film, see Proloy (film).

A Pralaya specifies different periods of time during which a non-activity situation persists, as per different formats or contexts. The word Mahapralaya stands for "Great Dissolution".[1] During each pralaya, the lower ten realms (loka) are destroyed,[2] while the higher four realms called Satya-loka, Tapa-loka, Jana-loka, and Mahar-loka are preserved. During each Mahapralaya, all 14 realms are destroyed.

In the Samkhya philosophy, one of the six schools of classical Indian philosophy, pralaya means "non-existence", a state of matter achieved when the three gunas (principles of matter) are in perfect balance. The word pralaya comes from Sanskrit meaning "dissolution" or by extension "reabsorption, destruction, annihilation or death".

The word pralaya appears in the Cyclops chapter of James Joyce's epic novel Ulysses.

The Swedish metal band, Dissection, references "Mahapralaya" in their song, "Maha Kali".

The Polish black metal band, Plaga, references "Mahapralaya" in their song, "Śmierć cieplna wszechświata" (Thermal Death of the Universe).

In Fate Grand Order, Arjuna Alter's Noble Phantasm is Mahapralaya.

In DC Comics, a character named Pralaya exists and is the personification of the void that existed before, and will exist after creation.

See also

References
  1. Rajarajan, R. K. K. (2020). "Water, Source of 'Genesis' and the End Macro and Micro Viṣṇu in the Hymns of the Āḻvārs". The Medieval History Journal. 23 (2): 296–331. doi:10.1177/0971945820956583. ISSN 0971-9458. S2CID 227240912.
  2. B. K. Chaturvedi (2004). Shiv Purana. Diamond Pocket Books. p. 124. ISBN 8171827217.
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