Vishnu as Shiva-Rudra, Destroyer of Life on Earth
At the end of 1,000 Maha Yugas, which is one day of the life of the world, the great god Vishnu will adopt the form of Shiva· Rudra and will destroy all life on earth. He will usher in one night in the life of the world, a period lasting as long as the day. First he will enter the sun's rays and intensify them for 100 years, causing great heat to evaporate all water on the face of the earth. All three worlds- heaven, earth, and the Underworld- will bum up from this intense heat. The great drought and scorching fire will create a wasteland. Famine will stalk the universe, and by the time the 100-year period ends, no living creature will remain.
When the fires have consumed all life on the three worlds, Shiva-Rudra, the destructive form of Vishnu, will exhale dreadful storm clouds. Accompanied by terrifying thunder and lightning, these clouds will move across the face of the earth, obscuring the sun and cloaking the world in darkness. Day and night, for 100 years, a deluge of rain will pour forth until everything in the world has been buried beneath the deep waters of a devastating flood. Besides the desolate sea, only the great god Vishnu will continue to exist, for the fire and flood will have destroyed all of the other gods along with the rest of all life.
Just as the great flood begins to bury all life, a large golden egg will appear. This egg will contain the seeds of all forms of life that existed in the world before the flood. As the world drowns, the egg will float safely upon the waters of the boundless ocean.
When the ocean completely covers all three worlds, Vishnu will exhale a drying wind. For 100 years this wind will course across the world, dispersing the storm clouds. For the remainder of the 1,000 Maha Yugas, that night in the life of the world, Vishnu will sleep and the world will lie asleep also.