Text 37]
Further Inquiries by Vidura
295
tattvānām bhagavaṁs teṣām katidhā pratisaṅkramaḥ tatremaṁ ka upāsīran ka u svid anuśerate
tattvānām —of the elements of nature;  bhagavan —O great sage;  teṣām —of them;  katidhā —how many;  pratisaṅkramaḥ —dissolutions;  tatra —there-upon;  imant —unto the Supreme Lord;  ke —who are they;  upāsīran —being saved;  ke —who are they;  u —who;  svit —may;  anuśerate —serve the Lord while He sleeps.
TRANSLATION
Please describe how many dissolutions there are for the elements of material nature and who survives after the dissolutions to serve the Lord while He is asleep.
PURPORT
In the  Brahma-saṁhitā  it is said that all the material manifestations with innumerable universes appear and disappear with the breathing of the  Mahā-Viṣṇu  lying in  yoga-nidrā , or mystic sleep.
yaḥ kāraṇārṇava-jale bhajati sam yoga- nidrām ananta-jagadaṇḍa-saromakūpaḥ ādhāra-śaktim avalambya parāṁ sva-mūrtiṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi yasyaika-niśvasita-kālam athāvalambya jīvanti loma-vilajā jagadaṇḍa-nāthāḥ viṣṇur mahān sa iha yasya kalā-viśeṣo govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
“Govinda, the ultimate and Supreme Personality of Godhead [Lord Kṛṣṇa], lies sleeping unlimitedly on the Causal Ocean in order to create unlimited numbers of universes during that sleep. He lies on the water by His own internal potency, and I worship that original Supreme Godhead.
“Due to His breathing, innumerable universes come into existence, and when He withdraws His breath there occurs the dissolution of all the lords of the universes. That plenary portion of the Supreme Lord is called  Mahā-Viṣṇu , and He is a part of the part of Lord Kṛṣṇa. I worship Govinda, the original Lord.” (Bs.5.47-5.48)
After the dissolution of the material  manifestations , the Lord and His kingdom beyond the Causal Ocean do not disappear, nor do the inhabitants, the Lord’s associates. The associates of the Lord are far more