Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 24
Cosmic Night, Nārāyaṇa as Brahmā, and the Varāha Raising of the Earth
तस्योपरि जलौघस्य महती नौरिव स्थिता / विततत्वाच्च देहस्य न मही याति संप्लवम्
tasyopari jalaughasya mahatī nauriva sthitā / vitatatvācca dehasya na mahī yāti saṃplavam
Above that rushing mass of waters, the great Earth stood firm like a vast ship; and because His body was spread out as a supporting expanse, the Earth did not sink into the cosmic inundation.
Suta (narrating the Kurma Purana account to the sages)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as the underlying support (ādhāra) that remains steady amid dissolution, implying an unshaken, sustaining reality beneath changing cosmic states.
The verse points to dhāraṇā in a cosmic sense—contemplating the Lord as the inner support of the world—an aid to steadiness of mind amid the ‘flood’ of sensations and change.
By emphasizing the one sustaining principle behind cosmic order, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian theology where the supreme support can be praised in Shaiva or Vaishnava terms without contradiction.