Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 6
Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle
विश्वकर्मा तथा रश्मिर्बुधं पुष्णाति सर्वदा / विश्वव्यचास्तु यो रश्मिः शुक्रं पुष्णाति नित्यदा
viśvakarmā tathā raśmirbudhaṃ puṣṇāti sarvadā / viśvavyacāstu yo raśmiḥ śukraṃ puṣṇāti nityadā
Le rayon solaire nommé Viśvakarmā nourrit sans cesse Budha (Mercure) ; et le rayon appelé Viśvavyacās nourrit continuellement Śukra (Vénus).
Sūta (narrator) recounting Purāṇic cosmology to the sages
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By portraying the grahas as sustained through Sūrya’s specific rays, the verse points to an ordered cosmos dependent on a higher sustaining principle—an image commonly used in the Kurma Purana to imply that all functions ultimately rest on the Supreme Lord (Īśvara) beyond the visible instruments.
No direct technique is taught in this verse; however, such cosmological mapping supports yogic contemplation (dhyāna) on cosmic order (ṛta), helping the practitioner align inner discipline with the harmonies that Īśvara maintains—an outlook compatible with Pāśupata-oriented devotion and restraint emphasized elsewhere in the text.
While not naming Śiva or Viṣṇu explicitly, the verse reflects a Purāṇic synthesis where cosmic governance is attributed to the one Īśvara functioning through multiple powers; this theological frame readily accommodates the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian tendency to honor both Śiva and Viṣṇu as expressions of the same supreme governance.