Shloka 21
Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle
धाताष्टभिः सहस्त्रैस्तु नवभिस्तु शतक्रतुः / विवस्वान् दशभिः पाति पात्येकादशभिर्भगः
dhātāṣṭabhiḥ sahastraistu navabhistu śatakratuḥ / vivasvān daśabhiḥ pāti pātyekādaśabhirbhagaḥ
ധാതാ എട്ടായിരം (രശ്മികളാൽ) സംരക്ഷിക്കുന്നു; ശതക്രതു (ഇന്ദ്രൻ) ഒമ്പതായിരംകൊണ്ട്. വിവസ്വാൻ പത്തായിരംകൊണ്ട് സംരക്ഷിക്കുന്നു; ഭഗൻ പതിനൊന്നായിരംകൊണ്ട് സംരക്ഷിക്കുന്നു.
Sūta (narrator) recounting the Purāṇic cosmological enumeration to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By listing distinct protective powers (rays/energies) of multiple deities, the verse implies a single sustaining order behind many names—an Īśvara-centered unity where diverse functions operate as manifestations of one cosmic governance.
No direct yogic technique is taught in this verse; its value is contemplative—using cosmological enumeration to steady the mind on divine order (ṛta), supporting dhyāna on the solar principle as a regulated, sustaining power within Īśvara’s creation.
Although not naming Śiva or Viṣṇu explicitly, the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis reads such deity-lists as functional aspects of the one Lord; the many protectors indicate one supreme reality expressing itself through multiple divine offices rather than competing gods.