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Shloka 4

Nine Creations (Sarga), Guṇa-Streams of Beings, and Brahmā’s Progeny in Cyclic Time

वर्हिरन्तश्चाप्रकाशः स्तब्धो निः संज्ञ एव च / मुक्या नगा इति प्रोक्ता मुख्यसर्गस्तु स स्मृतः

varhirantaścāprakāśaḥ stabdho niḥ saṃjña eva ca / mukyā nagā iti proktā mukhyasargastu sa smṛtaḥ

وُصِفوا بأنّ نموّهم «كالعشب» لكنه متوجّه إلى الداخل، بلا نور، جامدون لا حركة لهم، كأن لا إدراك فيهم. وهؤلاء يُسمَّون «موكهيَا نَغاه» (mukhyā nagāḥ)، أي الكائنات الأولى الساكنة؛ وتُذكَر تلك بأنها «موكهيَا-سَرْغا» (mukhya-sarga)، الخلق الأوّل.

varhiḥvarhi (a term/name)
varhiḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/list item)
TypeNoun
Rootvarhi (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; (reading varhiḥ as a name/term)
antaḥwithin
antaḥ:
Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देश-अधिकरण)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootantaḥ (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; adverb (‘within/inside’)
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; conjunction
aprakāśaḥnon-illumination/darkness
aprakāśaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/list item)
TypeNoun
Roota + prakāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; negative a-
stabdhaḥstupefied/rigid
stabdhaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/list item)
TypeVerb
Rootstambh (धातु)
Formक्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन
niḥ-saṃjñaḥunconscious
niḥ-saṃjñaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/list item)
TypeAdjective
Rootnis + saṃjñā (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘without consciousness’
evaindeed
eva:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; emphatic particle
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; conjunction
mukhyāḥprincipal
mukhyāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootmukhya (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; (text has mukyā; normalized to mukhyāḥ)
nagāḥmountains / immovables
nagāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootnaga (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन
itithus
iti:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative marker)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootiti (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; quotative particle
proktāḥare said/called
proktāḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया/predicative)
TypeVerb
Rootpra + vac (धातु)
Formक्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; agreeing with nagāḥ
mukhya-sargaḥthe principal creation
mukhya-sargaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootmukhya + sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन
tubut/indeed
tu:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottu (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; adversative/contrast particle
saḥthat
saḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन
smṛtaḥis remembered/considered
smṛtaḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया/predicative)
TypeVerb
Rootsmṛ (धातु)
Formक्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘is remembered/considered’

Traditional Purana narrator (Suta/authorial narration in the creation account)

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

M
Mukhya-sarga
N
Nagāḥ (immobile beings)

FAQs

By describing beings that appear “without consciousness,” the verse implies that consciousness can be unmanifest or obscured in certain states of creation; the Atman is not denied, but its expression is veiled in the earliest, inert stages.

No direct practice is taught in this line; however, it supports a yogic framework where consciousness ranges from obscured to awakened—an idea used in Kurma Purana’s broader teachings (including Pashupata-oriented discipline) to explain why purification and inner illumination are necessary.

Indirectly: the cosmological ‘sarga’ framework is shared across Shaiva and Vaishnava presentations in the Kurma Purana, reflecting its synthesis where creation doctrine is presented as a common ground rather than a sectarian divide.