Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verse 18

English Translation

With the coming of day all manifested things emerge from the Unmanifest and when night comes they merge in that itself which is called the Unmanifested.

Detailed Commentary

Verse 8.18: Explanation — Regarding 'avyaktād vyaktayaḥ... tatraivāvyaktasaṃjñake' — all bodies of living beings are here referred to as 'vyaktayah' and in the fourteenth chapter, fourth verse, as 'mūrtayaḥ'. Just as the individual's world, along with 'I' and 'mine' (ego and possessiveness), arises upon the jiva's awakening and dissolves upon falling asleep, similarly, this gross universe manifests from Brahma's Prakriti upon His awakening and dissolves into it upon His sleeping. This implies that upon Brahma's awakening, there is 'Srishti' (creation), and upon His sleeping, there is 'Pralaya' (dissolution). When Brahma's lifespan of one hundred years concludes, then 'Mahapralaya' (the Great Dissolution) occurs, in which Brahma Himself dissolves into the Lord. The duration of Mahapralaya is equal to Brahma's lifespan. Upon the conclusion of Mahapralaya, Brahma manifests from the Lord, and 'Mahasarga' (the Great Creation) begins (Gita 9.7-8).