Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 20
Sūrya’s Celestial Car: Ādityas, Ṛṣis, Gandharvas, Apsarases, Nāgas, and the Two-Month Cosmic Cycle
बालखिल्या नयन्त्यस्तं परिवार्योदयाद् रविम् / एते तपन्ति वर्षन्ति भान्ति वान्ति सृजन्ति च / भूतानामशुभं कर्म व्यपोहन्तीह कीर्तिताः
bālakhilyā nayantyastaṃ parivāryodayād ravim / ete tapanti varṣanti bhānti vānti sṛjanti ca / bhūtānāmaśubhaṃ karma vyapohantīha kīrtitāḥ
Les sages Bālakhilya, entourant le Soleil dès son lever, le conduisent jusqu’à son coucher. Ils chauffent, font pleuvoir, resplendissent, soufflent comme les vents et suscitent aussi la création. Ici, ils sont célébrés comme ceux qui écartent le karma néfaste des êtres.
Primary narrator (Purāṇic narration) describing the solar retinue; traditionally framed within the Kurma Purana’s dialogue setting of sages and the divine teaching stream
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: it shows that cosmic functions (heat, rain, light, wind, creation) operate as an ordered, purifying power; in Kurma Purana’s theology these are expressions of īśvara-śakti supporting dharma and cleansing aśubha karma, pointing to an underlying governing Reality rather than random nature.
The verse foregrounds tapas (austerity/inner heat) embodied by the Bālakhilyas; in the Kurma Purana’s broader Yoga-shāstra tone, such tapas aligns with disciplined conduct, purity (śauca), and devotion that burn karmic impurities—an outer-cosmic mirror of inner yogic purification.
Not explicitly by name, but it reflects the Purana’s synthetic vision: the same divine order that sustains Sūrya’s course and removes karma is ultimately one īśvara-tattva, harmonizing sectarian forms (Śaiva-Vaiṣṇava) as coordinated powers within a single cosmic governance.