Well, this is the end. Not the end exactly, but rather the start of something new. This is Purusha again with one final story. The story of Pralaya. During the first story that I told, I may have forgotten to say something very integral about my creation of Earth. I have done it countless times before. I have seen the Asuras win against the Devas in the Samudra Manthan, and in some instances, the Samudra Manthan has never even happened. That's just one small example of the countless number of ways that Earth's events have played out over the years. I love the creation of Earth. Seeing life on Earth play out is the main reason I have created the Earth over and over again. However, My least favorite part of the creation of earth is knowing that I will have to eventually destroy it even if it is the best Earth that I could possibly hope to create. This is where Pralaya comes in.
Pralaya is the destruction or dissolution of Earth. However, it's much less about the destruction of Earth, but about starting a clean slate on Earth. Pralaya does not happen very often. Every billion or some odd years on Earth I'd say, and it is not an instant process. The destruction of Earth is a difficult thing because I have poured a lot of time into making it. I also have to be the one to destroy it. I am not a watchmaker during this process and I am the one responsible for the complete destruction of Earth. Right before each Pralaya, there are not many people left on Earth typically. Some great war, disease, or technological advancement has typically mostly wiped them out before Pralaya starts. This makes it easier for me to destroy Earth because I do not have as much of an attachment. Earth is the only thing being changed as well. The Heavens and the Gods stay basically the same throughout this process. The Gods tend to like Pralaya. The God's get bored after a while, so having a brand new Earth allows them to reinvent themselves so-to-speak.
Given that I have done this countless times before, I have a bit of a system down. I first start with a flood. The sky pours for hundreds of days without any break. Water begins to rise and rise and rise until there are no exposed surfaces on Earth. This drowns any life on earth. I then stop the raining only to begin the heat. The Earth bakes at thousands of degrees Celsius until there is no water or life left on Earth. This process takes years. After I am done with this, I begin the earthquakes. I make hundreds a day changing the landscape drastically. Mountains form and disappear in a matter of minutes until I am completely satisfied with how the Earth looks. After this, the process is over and I am ready to start life on Earth again. I, along with the Gods, put a new golden egg on earth. I take some of myself and the Gods take some of themselves in the same way as always until the Earth is full of life again. This cycle has been repeated countless times and will be repeated countless more times. I hope you have enjoyed reading my stories and will spread them to whoever will listen.
Authors note:
I decided to write about Pralaya to complete the cycle that I have made throughout the storybook. I started with the Golden Egg as an introduction, continued with Samudra Manthan, and finished with Pralaya. Pralaya ends with the Golden Egg which begins the storybook back over. There is not too much online about Pryala which made it easy to write about what I wanted to write about. It also allowed me to interject with Purusha's voice more often. I was able to chose whatever I wanted for the destruction of Earth which made the story easier to write and I did not have to follow a certain chain of events. There are two different versions of Pralaya. There is the version that I listed above which involves the Earth. From the source, Pralaya destroys 'the lower ten realms,' but I decided to write Earth for ease. The lower ten realms would have taken a lot of time to discus. There is also a second version of Pralaya which is called Mahaparalya. When Mahaparalya happens, all of creation is destroyed. I chose Pralaya because that happens every cycle and would make more sense than choosing something that happens every one in a while. I hope that my storybook has been easy and fun to read!
Bibliography:
Title: Pralaya
Author: Wikipedia
Website: Wikipedia
Image information: