Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 37
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
तस्मिन् कार्यस्य करणं संसिद्धिः परमेष्ठिनः / प्राकृते ऽण्डे विवृत्तः स क्षेत्रज्ञो ब्रह्मसंज्ञितः
tasmin kāryasya karaṇaṃ saṃsiddhiḥ parameṣṭhinaḥ / prākṛte 'ṇḍe vivṛttaḥ sa kṣetrajño brahmasaṃjñitaḥ
Within that cosmic Egg, the means for the work of creation and the complete accomplishment of the Supreme Lord’s purpose came to be. In the primordial (prākṛta) egg, the Knower of the Field (kṣetrajña) manifested, known by the name Brahmā.
Sūta (narrator) describing the cosmogony to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the conscious principle as kṣetrajña (the Knower), which manifests within the primordial cosmos as Brahmā—implying that creation proceeds through a supreme intention (Parameṣṭhin) and a conscious knower that presides over the field (kṣetra) of Prakṛti.
No specific practice is prescribed in this verse; instead it supplies a Sāṃkhya-Yoga foundation used later in the Kurma Purana: discerning kṣetra (Prakṛti/body-mind) from kṣetrajña (awareness), a key contemplative discrimination that supports Yoga and Pāśupata-style renunciation and insight.
By attributing cosmic accomplishment to the supreme Parameṣṭhin while describing Brahmā as the manifested kṣetrajña, the verse supports the Purāṇa’s non-sectarian frame: one supreme lordly reality governs creation, harmonizing Shaiva-Vaishnava theological language rather than separating it.