Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Cosmic Night, Nārāyaṇa as Brahmā, and the Varāha Raising of the Earth
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे पञ्चमो ऽध्यायः श्रीकूर्म उवाच आसीदेकार्णवं घोरमविभागं तमोमयम् / शान्तवातादिकं सर्वं न प्रज्ञायत किञ्चन
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge pañcamo 'dhyāyaḥ śrīkūrma uvāca āsīdekārṇavaṃ ghoramavibhāgaṃ tamomayam / śāntavātādikaṃ sarvaṃ na prajñāyata kiñcana
かくして『シュリー・クールマ・プラーナ』六千頌の集成、前分（プールヴァ・バーガ）—（前章の結び）。シュリー・クールマは語った。「ただ一つの恐るべき大海があり、分かたれず、闇そのものに満ちていた。風など一切は静まり、何ものも識別できなかった。」
Lord Kurma (Vishnu)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By describing a state where no distinctions are perceptible—an undifferentiated, unmanifest condition—it implies that names and forms are contingent, while the deeper ground of reality (Atman/Brahman) is beyond division and ordinary cognition.
The verse points to the archetype of nirodha (stilling): when “wind and the rest” are quieted, activity ceases. In Yogic terms, it gestures toward the inward dissolution of vṛttis and prāṇa-movements that precedes higher contemplation.
Although spoken by Lord Kurma (Vishnu), the imagery of dissolution and the stilling of cosmic functions aligns with Shaiva pralaya metaphysics as well, reflecting the Kurma Purana’s tendency to harmonize Vaishnava narration with Shaiva-Yogic doctrine.