Pralaya

Cosmic dissolution. At the end of each kalpa, the universe is reabsorbed into prakṛti, dissolving all manifest form. The Bhagavad Gītā (8.17-19) describes cycles of creation and pralaya as the breathing rhythm of Brahmā. The mahāpralaya (great dissolution) represents total reabsorption into the unmanifest. In tantric practice, pralaya is also the dissolution of individual identity into pure consciousness, a precursor of samadhi.