Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 21
Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle
धाताष्टभिः सहस्त्रैस्तु नवभिस्तु शतक्रतुः / विवस्वान् दशभिः पाति पात्येकादशभिर्भगः
dhātāṣṭabhiḥ sahastraistu navabhistu śatakratuḥ / vivasvān daśabhiḥ pāti pātyekādaśabhirbhagaḥ
يحفظ «دھاتṛ» بثمانيةِ آلافٍ (من الأشعة)، ويحفظ «شَتَكْرَتو» (إندرا) بتسعةِ آلاف. ويحفظ «فيفسفان» (الشمس) بعشرةِ آلاف، ويحفظ «بهاگا» بأحدَ عشرَ ألفًا.
Sūta (narrator) recounting the Purāṇic cosmological enumeration to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By listing distinct protective powers (rays/energies) of multiple deities, the verse implies a single sustaining order behind many names—an Īśvara-centered unity where diverse functions operate as manifestations of one cosmic governance.
No direct yogic technique is taught in this verse; its value is contemplative—using cosmological enumeration to steady the mind on divine order (ṛta), supporting dhyāna on the solar principle as a regulated, sustaining power within Īśvara’s creation.
Although not naming Śiva or Viṣṇu explicitly, the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis reads such deity-lists as functional aspects of the one Lord; the many protectors indicate one supreme reality expressing itself through multiple divine offices rather than competing gods.