Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 39
Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction
करोति कालः सकलं संहरेत् काल एव हि / कालः स्थापयते विश्वं कालाधीनमिदं जगत्
karoti kālaḥ sakalaṃ saṃharet kāla eva hi / kālaḥ sthāpayate viśvaṃ kālādhīnamidaṃ jagat
കാലൻ തന്നെയാണ് എല്ലാം ചെയ്യുന്നത്; കാലൻ തന്നെയാണ് എല്ലാം സംഹരിക്കുന്നത്; കാലൻ തന്നെയാണ് വിശ്വം സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്നത്—ഈ ജഗത് കാലാധീനമാണ്।
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching within the Ishvara Gita discourse
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
By presenting Kāla as the universal power that creates, sustains, and dissolves the cosmos, the verse points to a governing Īśvara beyond individual agency; the Atman is to be known as distinct from the time-bound flux of the jagat, even while Īśvara’s order operates through Kāla.
The verse supports vairāgya and viveka central to Pāśupata-oriented discipline: meditate on the impermanence and time-governed nature of all phenomena, reducing attachment and stabilizing the mind for Īśvara-dhyāna (contemplation of the Lord) taught in the Ishvara Gita context.
In the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology, the single divine sovereignty (Īśvara) manifests governance through Kāla; this aligns with both Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms—Shiva as Mahākāla and Vishnu as cosmic sustainer—indicating one supreme order rather than sectarian separation.