Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 12
Dakṣa’s Progeny, Nṛsiṃha–Varāha Avatāras, and Andhaka’s Defeat
Hari–Hara–Śakti Synthesis
आपस्य पुत्रो वैतण्ड्यः श्रमः श्रान्तो धुनिस्तथा / ध्रुवस्य पुत्रो भगवान् कालो लोकप्रकालनः
āpasya putro vaitaṇḍyaḥ śramaḥ śrānto dhunistathā / dhruvasya putro bhagavān kālo lokaprakālanaḥ
From Āpa was born Vaitaṇḍya, and also Śrama, Śrānta, and Dhuni. From Dhruva was born the venerable Kāla—Time itself—who regulates and measures the worlds.
Sūta (traditional Purāṇic narrator) recounting lineage/cosmic genealogy
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: by personifying Kāla (Time) as the regulator of worlds, the verse highlights that all embodied processes are governed and measured—implying the Atman stands as the inner witness beyond time’s regulation, a common Purāṇic–yogic contrast between the timeless Self and time-bound creation.
No explicit practice is taught in this verse; its yogic utility is contemplative (dhyāna): reflecting on Kāla as the measurer of all worldly change supports vairāgya (dispassion) and steadiness of mind—foundational attitudes for later Kurma Purana teachings associated with Pāśupata-oriented discipline.
The verse is genealogical rather than sectarian: it frames cosmic order through Kāla as a divine principle. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such ordering principles are understood as functioning under the one supreme reality revered through both Shiva and Vishnu idioms.