Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
प्रधानात् क्षोभ्यमाणाच्च तथा पुंसः पुरातनात् / प्रादुरासीन्महद् बीजं प्रधानपुरुषात्मकम्
pradhānāt kṣobhyamāṇācca tathā puṃsaḥ purātanāt / prādurāsīnmahad bījaṃ pradhānapuruṣātmakam
ക്ഷോഭിതമായ പ്രധാനം (പ്രകൃതി) നിന്നുമും, ആ പുരാതന പുരുഷൻ (ചൈതന്യം) നിന്നുമും, പ്രധാനം-പുരുഷൻ എന്ന ഇരുസ്വഭാവവും ഉള്ള മഹാബീജമായ ‘മഹത്’ പ്രാദുര്ഭവിച്ചു।
Sūta (narrating the teaching of the sages in the Purva-bhaga creation discourse)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It presents the primordial Consciousness (Puruṣa) as the timeless principle whose proximity/agency, together with the stirred Pradhāna, allows Mahat (cosmic intellect) to manifest—implying that consciousness is fundamental and catalytic rather than merely a product of matter.
No direct practice is prescribed in this verse; instead it supplies the metaphysical map (Pradhāna–Puruṣa–Mahat) that later supports Yoga disciplines in the Kurma tradition—where discernment (viveka) between consciousness and nature becomes the basis for liberation-oriented meditation.
Indirectly: by grounding creation in a shared tattva framework (Pradhāna–Puruṣa), the Purāṇa prepares its synthetic stance where sectarian names (Śiva/Vişņu) point to the same supreme reality functioning as consciousness and lordship in cosmogenesis.