Shloka 12
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
ततो भवत्यनावृष्टिस्तीव्रा सा शतवार्षिकी / भूतक्षयकरी घोरा सर्वभूतक्षयङ्करी
tato bhavatyanāvṛṣṭistīvrā sā śatavārṣikī / bhūtakṣayakarī ghorā sarvabhūtakṣayaṅkarī
Lalu timbullah kemarau yang mengerikan—sangat dahsyat, berlangsung seratus tahun—yang mengikis makhluk hidup, ngeri, dan memusnahkan semua makhluk.
Sūta (narrating the Purāṇic account to the sages, describing pralaya-portents)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
By depicting universal destruction as a cosmic phase, the verse implies that embodied life is impermanent; the enduring refuge taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana is the Self beyond change, known through yoga and devotion.
This verse itself describes a pralaya-omen, but its practical implication aligns with Kurma Purana guidance: cultivate steadiness (yoga), restraint, and devotion to Īśvara so one is not shaken by worldly instability and scarcity.
The verse is cosmological rather than sectarian; within the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such pralaya processes are governed by the one Īśvara—honored as Hari and Hara—whose unified power presides over creation and dissolution.