Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 10
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
गुणसाम्ये तदा तस्मिन् पुरुषे चात्मनि स्थिते / प्राकृतः प्रलयो ज्ञेयो यावद् विश्वसमुद्भवः
guṇasāmye tadā tasmin puruṣe cātmani sthite / prākṛtaḥ pralayo jñeyo yāvad viśvasamudbhavaḥ
Lorsque les guṇa reviennent à l’équilibre et que le Puruṣa—le Soi—demeure établi en lui-même, cet état doit être connu comme le Prākṛta Pralaya (dissolution dans la Prakṛti), jusqu’à ce que l’univers renaisse.
Suta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic teaching on Sāṃkhya-Yoga cosmology
Primary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It presents the Self (Ātman/Puruṣa) as self-established and unchanged even when the guṇas of Prakṛti subside into perfect equilibrium; dissolution affects manifested nature, not the witnessing consciousness.
The verse implies the yogic aim of resting in the Self beyond guṇa-fluctuations—an inward stabilization where the mind’s qualities become balanced, supporting samādhi-like absorption and freedom from identification with Prakṛti.
While not naming Śiva or Viṣṇu directly, it teaches a shared Purāṇic non-dual metaphysics: the supreme conscious principle remains constant through cycles of creation and dissolution, a view compatible with Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis in the Kūrma tradition.