Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
आपश्चापि विकुर्वन्त्यो गन्धमात्रं ससर्जिरे / संघातो जायते तस्मात् तस्य गन्धो गुणो मतः
āpaścāpi vikurvantyo gandhamātraṃ sasarjire / saṃghāto jāyate tasmāt tasya gandho guṇo mataḥ
জলও বিকাৰপ্ৰাপ্ত হৈ কেৱল গন্ধ-তন্মাত্ৰা সৃষ্টি কৰে। তাৰ পৰা সংঘাত (ঘনত্ব/ঠোসত্ব) জন্মে; সেয়ে গন্ধকেই তাৰ গুণ বুলি মানা হয়।
Sūta (narrating the cosmological teaching as transmitted in the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By mapping smell and solidity as effects of elemental transformation, the verse implies the Atman is distinct from changing qualities (guṇas) and material evolutes; the Self is the witness beyond such produced attributes.
This supports tattva-viveka (discernment of principles): a contemplative practice used in Pashupata- and Ishvara-oriented sadhana to disidentify from sensory qualities (like smell) and stabilize awareness in the inner witness.
Though not naming them directly, the teaching aligns with the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: the same Supreme Ishvara—revered as Shiva or Vishnu—presides over the orderly evolution of tattvas, making cosmology a shared theological ground.