Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 32
Madhu–Kaiṭabha, Nārāyaṇa’s Yoga-Nidrā, Rudra’s Manifestation, and the Aṣṭamūrti–Trimūrti Teaching
प्रजाः सृजेति चादिष्टो ब्रह्मणा नीललोहितः / स्वात्मना सदृशान् रुद्रान् ससर्ज मनसा शिवः
prajāḥ sṛjeti cādiṣṭo brahmaṇā nīlalohitaḥ / svātmanā sadṛśān rudrān sasarja manasā śivaḥ
Sur l’ordre de Brahmā, Nīlalohita (Rudra) reçut l’injonction : «Crée les êtres». Alors Śiva, par la puissance de sa propre volonté, fit naître par la pensée des Rudra semblables à son propre Soi.
Sūta (narrator) recounting the cosmogonic episode to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
By saying Śiva created “Rudras resembling his own Self” and did so “by mind,” the verse presents divine manifestation as arising from the Lord’s own essence and will—creation is an expression of consciousness rather than a purely material process.
While not prescribing a technique directly, the verse foregrounds manasa-sṛṣṭi (mind-born creation), a key yogic idea: mastery of mind and will (saṅkalpa) as a creative power—conceptually aligned with Pāśupata and Īśvara-centered disciplines where inner resolve and contemplation are primary.
In the Kurma Purana’s integrative theology, such creation narratives support the view of one Īśvara operating through different divine names and functions—Śiva as Rudra-creator here complements the Purana’s broader non-sectarian synthesis rather than opposing Vaiṣṇava devotion.