Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 17
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
व्याप्नुवन्तश्च ते विप्रास्तूर्ध्वं चाधश्च रश्मिभिः / दीप्यन्ते भास्कराः सप्त युगान्ताग्निप्रतापिनः
vyāpnuvantaśca te viprāstūrdhvaṃ cādhaśca raśmibhiḥ / dīpyante bhāskarāḥ sapta yugāntāgnipratāpinaḥ
হে বিপ্রগণ, সেই সাত ভাস্কর রশ্মি ছড়িয়ে ঊর্ধ্ব ও অধঃ সর্বত্র ব্যাপ্ত হল; এবং যুগান্তের অগ্নির মতো দাহক প্রতাপে দীপ্ত হয়ে উঠল।
Sūta (narrator) describing the teaching/tradition to the assembled sages
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
By portraying all worlds as pervaded and consumed at yugānta, the verse implies that created forms are impermanent under kāla; the enduring reality is the transcendent Self/Iśvara beyond the dissolving cosmos.
No technique is prescribed directly, but the contemplation of pralaya functions as vairāgya (dispassion): a yogic reflection that loosens attachment to transient phenomena and supports inward turning toward Iśvara/Ātman.
The imagery of cosmic dissolution aligns with Purāṇic non-sectarian theology where pralaya operates under the one supreme Lord—named Śiva or Viṣṇu in different frames—indicating functional unity in governance of kāla and creation.