Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 10
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
गुणसाम्ये तदा तस्मिन् पुरुषे चात्मनि स्थिते / प्राकृतः प्रलयो ज्ञेयो यावद् विश्वसमुद्भवः
guṇasāmye tadā tasmin puruṣe cātmani sthite / prākṛtaḥ pralayo jñeyo yāvad viśvasamudbhavaḥ
ഗുണങ്ങൾ സമ്യാവസ്ഥയിൽ എത്തി, പുരുഷൻ—ആത്മാവ്—സ്വയംതന്നിൽ സ്ഥാപിതനായിരിക്കുമ്പോൾ, അതിനെ പ്രാകൃത പ്രളയം എന്നു അറിയണം; വിശ്വം വീണ്ടും ഉദ്ഭവിക്കുന്നതുവരെ അത് നിലനിൽക്കും.
Suta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic teaching on Sāṃkhya-Yoga cosmology
Primary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It presents the Self (Ātman/Puruṣa) as self-established and unchanged even when the guṇas of Prakṛti subside into perfect equilibrium; dissolution affects manifested nature, not the witnessing consciousness.
The verse implies the yogic aim of resting in the Self beyond guṇa-fluctuations—an inward stabilization where the mind’s qualities become balanced, supporting samādhi-like absorption and freedom from identification with Prakṛti.
While not naming Śiva or Viṣṇu directly, it teaches a shared Purāṇic non-dual metaphysics: the supreme conscious principle remains constant through cycles of creation and dissolution, a view compatible with Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis in the Kūrma tradition.