Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 22
Madhu–Kaiṭabha, Nārāyaṇa’s Yoga-Nidrā, Rudra’s Manifestation, and the Aṣṭamūrti–Trimūrti Teaching
तदा प्राणमयो रुद्रः प्रादुरसीत् प्रभीर्मुखात् / सहस्त्रादित्यसंकाशो युगान्तदहनोपमः
tadā prāṇamayo rudraḥ prādurasīt prabhīrmukhāt / sahastrādityasaṃkāśo yugāntadahanopamaḥ
Da erschien Rudra, aus dem Lebenshauch selbst gebildet, aus dem furchterregenden Mund (des kosmischen Wesens). Er leuchtete wie tausend Sonnen, gleich dem verzehrenden Feuer am Ende eines Zeitalters.
Narrator (Purāṇic narration describing cosmic manifestation)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
By calling Rudra “prāṇamaya” (made of vital breath), the verse points to divinity as the inner life-principle that animates beings—suggesting the Supreme is encountered as the power of consciousness and life within, not merely as an external form.
The verse implicitly foregrounds prāṇa as a doorway to the divine: contemplative traditions in the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis often treat mastery of prāṇa (through restraint, breath-awareness, and inner stillness) as supportive for realizing Īśvara’s presence as the indwelling life-force.
Rudra’s emergence within a cosmic creation frame supports the Purana’s integrative theology: Rudra (Śiva) is presented as a manifested divine potency within the same supreme order, aligning with the Kurma Purana’s tendency to harmonize Shaiva and Vaishnava visions rather than oppose them.