Śivasaṃhitā 1.78

The involution of the universe as a mirror of its evolution. If creation was a process of densification—from spirit to ether, from ether to air, until reaching earth—dissolution exactly reverses that process. Earth returns to water, water to fire, fire to air, air to ether, ether to avidyā, and avidyā to brahman. The universe is a wave that arises and returns to the ocean.

Gandhalakṣaṇikā (having smell as its characteristic, whose mark is aroma) defines earth: it is the densest element, the only one that possesses all five accumulated sensory qualities. Dhruvam (definitive, certain, firm) closes the description with authority. The sequence of involution (pralaya) goes in reverse order to that of creation (sṛṣṭi): from the densest to the subtlest, from earth to brahman.

The doctrine of cosmic involution (pralaya) appears in the Manusmṛti, in the Purāṇas, and in the Upaniṣads. In the context of the Śivasaṃhitā’s Tantric yoga, this doctrine has practical implications: laya yoga (yoga of dissolution) works with the reabsorption of elements in the reverse order of creation, leading consciousness back to its source. Śavāsana can be seen as a miniature of this cosmic process.