Shloka 5
Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle
तिर्यगूर्ध्वप्रचारो ऽसौ सुषुम्नः परिपठ्यते / हरिकेशस्तु यः प्रोक्तो रश्मिर्नक्षत्रपोषकः
tiryagūrdhvapracāro 'sau suṣumnaḥ paripaṭhyate / harikeśastu yaḥ prokto raśmirnakṣatrapoṣakaḥ
തിരശ്ചീനമായും ഊർദ്ധ്വമായും സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്ന ആ പ്രവാഹം ‘സുഷുമ്ന’ എന്നു പാരായണം ചെയ്യപ്പെടുന്നു. ‘ഹരികേശ’ എന്നു പ്രസ്താവിച്ച രശ്മി നക്ഷത്രങ്ങളെ പോഷിപ്പിക്കുന്നതാണ്.
Traditional Purāṇic narrator (within the Kurma Purana’s cosmological exposition)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: by describing an ordered, sustaining cosmic function (rays that nourish the nakṣatras), the verse supports the Purāṇic view that the universe operates through intelligible, law-like powers—often ultimately grounded in Īśvara, though the Atman is not explicitly defined here.
The term “Suṣumnā” echoes yogic subtle-body teaching (the central channel associated with upward movement). While this verse is framed cosmologically, it aligns with Yoga-śāstra imagery of prāṇa moving upward through Suṣumnā—useful for meditation on inner ascent and disciplined prāṇic regulation.
Not explicitly; however, Kurma Purana commonly presents a synthesis where cosmic governance (rays, channels, nourishment of stars) is an expression of the one Īśvara revered through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava lenses—unity shown through shared cosmological and yogic vocabulary.