Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 41
Measure of the Three Worlds, Planetary Spheres, and Sūrya as the Root of Trailokya
आदित्यमूलमखिलं त्रिलोकं नात्र संशयः / भवत्यस्मात् जगत् कृत्स्नं सदेवासुरमानुषम्
ādityamūlamakhilaṃ trilokaṃ nātra saṃśayaḥ / bhavatyasmāt jagat kṛtsnaṃ sadevāsuramānuṣam
The entire threefold world has the Sun (Āditya) as its root—of this there is no doubt. From him arises the whole universe in its entirety, together with gods, asuras, and human beings.
Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic teaching in context
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By presenting Āditya as the root of the three worlds, the verse points to a single sustaining source behind all beings; in Kurma Purana theology, such a cosmic source functions as an emblem of the one Lord/inner Self that manifests the universe.
The verse supports contemplative practice (dhyāna) on the cosmic origin—meditating on a single luminous source as the ground of all worlds—an aid to one-pointedness (ekāgratā) that complements the Kurma Purana’s wider yoga-dharma and the later Ishvara Gita teachings.
While Shiva and Vishnu are not named here, the Kurma Purana often treats cosmic functions through unified divine symbolism; Āditya as the universal root can be read as a shared theistic principle consistent with the text’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis.