Shloka 18
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
ते सूर्या वारिणा दीप्ता बहुसाहस्त्ररश्मयः / खं समावृत्य तिष्ठन्ति निर्दहन्तो वसुंधराम्
te sūryā vāriṇā dīptā bahusāhastraraśmayaḥ / khaṃ samāvṛtya tiṣṭhanti nirdahanto vasuṃdharām
ಆ ಸೂರ್ಯರು ನೀರಿನ ಆರ್ಧ್ರತೆಯಿಂದ ದೀಪ್ತರಾಗಿ, ಅನೇಕ ಸಾವಿರ ಕಿರಣಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತು ಆಕಾಶವನ್ನು ಆವರಿಸಿ ನಿಂತು, ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ದಹಿಸಲಾರಂಭಿಸಿದರು।
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator in the Kurma Purana’s discourse frame; traditionally Sūta relating the account to sages)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly, by portraying world-conditions as mutable and consumable by cosmic forces; the implied teaching is vairāgya—turning from perishable phenomena toward the imperishable Self beyond creation and dissolution.
No technique is stated explicitly; the verse functions as a contemplative support (dhyāna-upakaraṇa) for dispassion and inwardness—using pralaya imagery to steady the mind toward disciplined practice taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana (including Pāśupata-oriented restraint and devotion).
It does not name Śiva or Viṣṇu directly, but it fits the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis: cosmic processes (creation/dissolution) are governed by Īśvara—understood across the text as a unified supreme reality revered through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava lenses.