Shloka 52

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

Devanagari script

सो ऽहं सत्त्वं समास्थाय मायी मायामयीं स्वयम् / एकार्णवे जगत्यस्मिन् योगनिद्रां व्रजामि तु

Transliteration

so 'haṃ sattvaṃ samāsthāya māyī māyāmayīṃ svayam / ekārṇave jagatyasmin yoganidrāṃ vrajāmi tu

Translation

我は—サットヴァの徳に安住し—マーヤーを司り、また自らもマーヤーより成る者として、この宇宙が滅尽して一つの大海となるとき、ヨーガの眠り（ヨーガニドラー）に入る。

Word by Word

• सः: he/that one
• सः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उभयलिङ्ग-प्रयोग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सत्त्वम्: purity; sattva-quality
• सत्त्वम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• समास्थाय: having assumed
• समास्थाय: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), ‘having resorted to/assumed’

• मायी: possessing māyā; magical
• मायी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• मायामयीम्: made of māyā
• मायामयीम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माया + मय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण; मयट्-प्रत्ययान्त (‘consisting of’)

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; आत्मनः-प्रयोग (reflexive/emphatic adverb)

• एकार्णवे: in the single ocean
• एकार्णवे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘एकः अर्णवः’ इति कर्मधारय

• जगति: in the world
• जगति: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; विशेषण (jagati)

• योगनिद्राम्: yogic sleep
• योगनिद्राम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योग + निद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘योगस्य निद्रा’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• व्रजामि: I enter/go to
• व्रजामि: Kriya (क्रिया/Finite verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्रज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष? (No) उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu as Ishvara, teaching in the Ishvara Gita)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Maya
• Sattva
• Yoganidra
• Ekarṇava (single cosmic ocean)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It portrays the Supreme as sovereign over Māyā—able to assume sattva for cosmic governance—yet also as the very ground in which Māyā appears, entering yogic repose at dissolution without losing lordship.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse highlights yoganidrā as īśvara’s contemplative withdrawal—an archetype for deep meditative absorption (laya/samādhi-like stillness) where the mind rests in sattva and the cosmos resolves into undifferentiated waters.

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

By presenting the Lord as Īśvara beyond sectarian limits—master of Māyā and source of yogic dissolution—it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where the supreme function (creation-preservation-dissolution) is one, though named variously as Shiva or Vishnu.