Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 9
Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle
दिव्यानां पार्थिवानां च नैशानां चैव सर्वशः / आदानान्नित्यमादित्यस्तेजसां तमसां प्रभुः
divyānāṃ pārthivānāṃ ca naiśānāṃ caiva sarvaśaḥ / ādānānnityamādityastejasāṃ tamasāṃ prabhuḥ
Indem Āditya (die Sonne) fortwährend auf jede Weise die Kräfte des Himmlischen, Irdischen und Nächtlichen an sich zieht, bleibt er ewig der souveräne Herr sowohl über Glanz als auch über Dunkelheit.
Narratorial/Purāṇic exposition (speaker not explicitly marked in the given verse); traditionally framed within the sages’ discourse as a teaching on cosmic order
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It points to a single governing principle behind opposites—light (tejas) and darkness (tamas). In Kurma Purana’s theistic-nondual lens, such cosmic regulation reflects an underlying unity: the One reality that orders and transcends dualities, while manifesting as the cosmic function of Āditya.
The verse implies mastery over tejas and tamas—clarity and obscuration—an inner analogue to the Sun’s governance. In Pashupata-oriented practice, this maps to disciplining the guṇas through restraint, steadiness of attention, and contemplative absorption so that awareness remains luminous even amid tamasic inertia.
Though it names Āditya, the teaching fits the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: one supreme lordhood operates through many divine forms and cosmic functions. The same ultimate sovereignty praised in Shaiva terms (Īśvara) and Vaishnava terms (Nārāyaṇa/Kūrma) is reflected here as the Sun’s regulatory power over light and darkness.