Pralaya - The disintegration of the cosmos that occurs at the conclusion of the kalpa or Day of Brahma, according to Hindu mythology.
Pralaya is known as Brahma's "night," and it lasts
the same length of time as the day (by one estimate, 4.32 billion years).
The devastation of the world, first by fire, and then by
heavy rains that turn the whole globe into one gigantic ocean, heralds the
arrival of this "night." During this period, the only living thing is
the deity Vishnu, who is deep in a yogic trance on the back of his snake
chariot Shesha.
When the moment for creation comes again, a lotus grows from
his navel, which opens to show Brahma, and the universe is born again.
