Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.3.13
Nirodha· Winding upThe Elements Return to Their Sources
“Deprived of its quality of aroma by the wind, the element earth is transformed into water; and water, deprived of its taste by that same wind, is merged into fire.”
What the purport teaches
- In creation, air expands from ether, fire from air, water from fire, and earth from water.
- At annihilation, this order is reversed. When wind removes earth’s aroma, earth merges back into water.
- The same wind removes water’s taste, and water merges into fire, from which it originally came.
Try this today
Write the sequence “earth → water → fire,” noting the loss of aroma and then taste.
Ask yourself
How does the return of each element to its source change my view of material things as permanent?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.