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Shloka 4

Nine Creations (Sarga), Guṇa-Streams of Beings, and Brahmā’s Progeny in Cyclic Time

वर्हिरन्तश्चाप्रकाशः स्तब्धो निः संज्ञ एव च / मुक्या नगा इति प्रोक्ता मुख्यसर्गस्तु स स्मृतः

varhirantaścāprakāśaḥ stabdho niḥ saṃjña eva ca / mukyā nagā iti proktā mukhyasargastu sa smṛtaḥ

On les décrit comme ayant une croissance « semblable à l’herbe » tournée vers l’intérieur, sans lumière, figés et immobiles, comme privés de conscience. On les nomme « mukhyā nagāḥ », les êtres immobiles primordiaux ; et cela est retenu comme la « mukhya-sarga », la création première.

varhiḥvarhi (a term/name)
varhiḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/list item)
TypeNoun
Rootvarhi (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; (reading varhiḥ as a name/term)
antaḥwithin
antaḥ:
Deśa-adhikaraṇa (देश-अधिकरण)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootantaḥ (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; adverb (‘within/inside’)
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; conjunction
aprakāśaḥnon-illumination/darkness
aprakāśaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/list item)
TypeNoun
Roota + prakāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; negative a-
stabdhaḥstupefied/rigid
stabdhaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/list item)
TypeVerb
Rootstambh (धातु)
Formक्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन
niḥ-saṃjñaḥunconscious
niḥ-saṃjñaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/list item)
TypeAdjective
Rootnis + saṃjñā (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘without consciousness’
evaindeed
eva:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/emphasis)
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; emphatic particle
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; conjunction
mukhyāḥprincipal
mukhyāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootmukhya (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; (text has mukyā; normalized to mukhyāḥ)
nagāḥmountains / immovables
nagāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootnaga (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन
itithus
iti:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative marker)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootiti (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; quotative particle
proktāḥare said/called
proktāḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया/predicative)
TypeVerb
Rootpra + vac (धातु)
Formक्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; agreeing with nagāḥ
mukhya-sargaḥthe principal creation
mukhya-sargaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootmukhya + sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन
tubut/indeed
tu:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottu (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; adversative/contrast particle
saḥthat
saḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन
smṛtaḥis remembered/considered
smṛtaḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया/predicative)
TypeVerb
Rootsmṛ (धातु)
Formक्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘is remembered/considered’

Traditional Purana narrator (Suta/authorial narration in the creation account)

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

M
Mukhya-sarga
N
Nagāḥ (immobile beings)

FAQs

By describing beings that appear “without consciousness,” the verse implies that consciousness can be unmanifest or obscured in certain states of creation; the Atman is not denied, but its expression is veiled in the earliest, inert stages.

No direct practice is taught in this line; however, it supports a yogic framework where consciousness ranges from obscured to awakened—an idea used in Kurma Purana’s broader teachings (including Pashupata-oriented discipline) to explain why purification and inner illumination are necessary.

Indirectly: the cosmological ‘sarga’ framework is shared across Shaiva and Vaishnava presentations in the Kurma Purana, reflecting its synthesis where creation doctrine is presented as a common ground rather than a sectarian divide.