Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 43
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
तेजो दशगुणेनैव बाह्यतो वायुनावृतम् / आकाशेनावृतो वायुः खं तु भूतादिनावृतम्
tejo daśaguṇenaiva bāhyato vāyunāvṛtam / ākāśenāvṛto vāyuḥ khaṃ tu bhūtādināvṛtam
തേജസും പത്തിരട്ടിയായി പുറത്തുനിന്ന് വായുവാൽ പൊതിയപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു; വായു ആകാശത്താൽ പൊതിയപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു; ആകാശം ഭൂതാദി—തത്ത്വങ്ങളുടെ ആദികാരണം—കൊണ്ട് പൊതിയപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു।
Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic cosmological teaching of the sages
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By describing layers of elemental “envelopment,” the verse implies that the Self is not any one element; Atman is distinct from these coverings and is realized by discerning the difference between the witnessing consciousness and the evolving tattvas.
It supports tattva-viveka used in meditative inquiry: tracing experience from gross elements to subtler causes, then disengaging identification with these layers—an approach aligned with Kurma Purana’s Yoga-oriented, Pāśupata-friendly purification and discrimination.
Though not naming them directly, the shared cosmological framework is typical of the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: the same tattva-order is taught within a devotional-theistic horizon where the Supreme Lord—honored as Hari-Hara in spirit—transcends and governs the elemental coverings.