Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 37
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
मनः शिलाभास्त्वन्ये च कपोतसदृशाः परे / इन्द्रगोपनिभाः केचिद्धरितालनिभास्तथा / इन्द्रचापनिभाः केचिदुत्तिष्ठन्ति घना दिवि
manaḥ śilābhāstvanye ca kapotasadṛśāḥ pare / indragopanibhāḥ keciddharitālanibhāstathā / indracāpanibhāḥ keciduttiṣṭhanti ghanā divi
تبدو بعضُ السُّحُب كالحجارة الداكنة، وأخرى كأنها حمامٌ؛ وبعضها أحمرُ كحشرةِ إندراگوبا، وبعضها أصفرُ كالأوربيمنت؛ ومنها ما يرتفع في السماء فيتخذ هيئةَ قوسِ إندرا—قوسِ قزح.
Narrator (Purana narrator continuing the description of observed omens/signs)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It does not directly teach Atman-doctrine; instead it describes changing cloud-forms as worldly phenomena, which in Purāṇic reading supports the broader insight that appearances are transient signs within cosmic order.
No explicit yogic technique is taught in this verse; indirectly, it encourages attentive observation (sūkṣma-dṛṣṭi) and discernment—qualities valued in dharma and in the contemplative disciplines discussed elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.
It does not mention Shiva or Vishnu explicitly; it functions as a descriptive passage of natural omens, while the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis of Shaiva–Vaishnava theology is developed in other sections.