Shloka 40
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
ततस्ते जलदा वर्षं मुञ्चन्तीह महौघवत् / सुघोरमशिवं सर्वं नाशयन्ति च पावकम्
tataste jaladā varṣaṃ muñcantīha mahaughavat / sughoramaśivaṃ sarvaṃ nāśayanti ca pāvakam
Puis ces nuages déversèrent la pluie comme un immense déluge. Par cette averse extrêmement terrible et de mauvais augure, ils détruisirent tout—et même le feu fut éteint.
Narrator (Purāṇic recitation tradition; likely Sūta reporting the account as part of the Kurma Purana’s cosmological narrative)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
By depicting even fire being extinguished in a cosmic calamity, the verse underscores the perishability of elemental forces; in Kurma Purana’s broader teaching, the Atman/Ishvara is that which remains untouched when all manifest supports (bhūtas) are dissolved.
No direct practice is prescribed in this verse; indirectly it supports vairāgya (dispassion) central to Kurma Purana’s yoga-ethic—seeing the instability of the world encourages steadiness in dhyāna and refuge in Ishvara beyond the elements.
The verse itself is cosmological rather than sectarian; in Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such dissolution imagery functions to point to one supreme Lord (Ishvara) beyond the elements—affirmed across Shaiva-Vaishnava language as the same ultimate reality.