Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 29
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
स दग्ध्वा पृथिवीं देवो रसातलमशोषयत् / अधस्तात् पृथिवीं दग्ध्वा दिवमूर्ध्वं दहिष्यति
sa dagdhvā pṛthivīṃ devo rasātalamaśoṣayat / adhastāt pṛthivīṃ dagdhvā divamūrdhvaṃ dahiṣyati
その神なる主は大地を焼き尽くしたのち、ラサータラをも乾き尽くさせた。下より大地を焼き尽くして、ついには上方へと、天界さえも焼かん。
Narrator (Purāṇic sage, describing kāla-agni and pralaya)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
By portraying the Lord as the all-consuming kāla-agni who transcends earth, netherworlds, and heaven, the verse points to the Supreme as beyond all lokas and their changes—supporting a yogic vision of the Atman/Ishvara as untouched by cosmic dissolution.
The verse implies vairāgya (dispassion) and loka-viveka (discernment about the impermanence of worlds). In the Kurma Purana’s yogic frame, contemplation on pralaya supports Pāśupata-oriented renunciation, steady dhyāna on Ishvara, and freedom from attachment to celestial or subterranean attainments.
It presents the one Divine Lord as the cosmic dissolver (a function often associated with Rudra/Śiva) while remaining within a Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa setting—reflecting the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where Śiva-Rudra power and Viṣṇu-Nārāyaṇa lordship converge in Ishvara.