Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 40

Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa

Devanagari script

ततस्ते जलदा वर्षं मुञ्चन्तीह महौघवत् / सुघोरमशिवं सर्वं नाशयन्ति च पावकम्

Transliteration

tataste jaladā varṣaṃ muñcantīha mahaughavat / sughoramaśivaṃ sarvaṃ nāśayanti ca pāvakam

Translation

ついでその雨雲は、大洪水のごとく激しい雨をここに注いだ。その甚だ恐ろしく不吉な降雨によって、万物は滅ぼされ、火さえも消し去られた。

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb

• te: those
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; demonstrative pronoun

• jaladāḥ: clouds
• jaladāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jalada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural

• varṣam: rain
• varṣam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2), Singular

• muñcanti: release/pour forth
• muñcanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √muc (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Plural

• iha: here
• iha: Deśa (देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb of place (देशवाचक)

• mahaugha-vat: like a great flood
• mahaugha-vat: Prakāra (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mahā-ogha (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (प्रत्यय)
• Form: Comparative indeclinable (उपमानवाचक अव्यय) formed with -वत्

• su-ghoram: very dreadful
• su-ghoram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-ghora (प्रातिपदिक; सु+घोर)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2), Singular; agrees with sarvam; कर्मधारय (very terrible)

• aśivam: inauspicious/harmful
• aśivam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-śiva (प्रातिपदिक; अ+शिव)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2), Singular; agrees with sarvam

• sarvam: everything
• sarvam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2), Singular

• nāśayanti: destroy
• nāśayanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √naś (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, Plural; causative sense ‘destroy’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• pāvakam: fire
• pāvakam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2), Singular

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic recitation tradition; likely Sūta reporting the account as part of the Kurma Purana’s cosmological narrative)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Characters & Entities

• Jaladā (rain-clouds)
• Pāvaka (Agni)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

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.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

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.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

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.