Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 49
Nine Creations (Sarga), Guṇa-Streams of Beings, and Brahmā’s Progeny in Cyclic Time
ततः स भगवान् ब्रह्मा संप्राप्य द्विजपुङ्गवाः / मूर्ति तमोरजः प्रायां पुनरेवाभ्ययूयुजत्
tataḥ sa bhagavān brahmā saṃprāpya dvijapuṅgavāḥ / mūrti tamorajaḥ prāyāṃ punarevābhyayūyujat
Dann näherte sich der erhabene Herr Brahmā—o ihr Vorzüglichsten unter den Zweimalgeborenen—und schirrte sich erneut an eine Gestalt, in der tamas und rajas vorherrschen, damit das Werk der Offenbarung fortschreite.
Sūta (narrator) describing Brahmā’s cosmic function to the assembled sages
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By implying that Brahmā’s creative activity operates through guṇas (tamas and rajas), the verse points to a higher principle beyond guṇas—the guṇātīta Self—while creation proceeds within prakṛti’s modalities.
The verse itself is cosmological, but it supports the Kurma Purana’s yogic thrust: liberation requires discernment (viveka) between the guṇa-bound functions of creation and the guṇa-transcending witness; this becomes the basis for meditation on the Self/Iśvara beyond rajas-tamas agitation.
Indirectly: it frames cosmic governance as role-based within guṇas (Brahmā as creator), while the Purana’s broader synthesis holds the supreme Iśvara—revered in both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava idioms—as the transcendent ground beyond guṇas.