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Shloka 4

Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa

सूत उवाच श्रुत्वा तेषां तदा वाक्यं भगवान् कूर्मरूपधृक् / व्याजहार महायोगी भूतानां प्रतिसंचरम्

sūta uvāca śrutvā teṣāṃ tadā vākyaṃ bhagavān kūrmarūpadhṛk / vyājahāra mahāyogī bhūtānāṃ pratisaṃcaram

സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അവരുടെ വാക്കുകൾ അന്ന് ശ്രവിച്ച കൂർമരൂപധാരിയായ ഭഗവാൻ, മഹായോഗി, സർവ്വഭൂതങ്ങളുടെ പ്രതിസഞ്ചാരം—ലയത്തിലേക്കുള്ള മടക്കം—വിശദീകരിച്ചു।

sūtaḥSūta
sūtaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootsūta (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन
uvācasaid
uvāca:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootvac (धातु)
Formलिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद
śrutvāhaving heard
śrutvā:
Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootśru (धातु)
Formक्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having heard’
teṣāmof them
teṣām:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeNoun
Roottad (प्रातिपदिक; सर्वनाम)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन
tadāthen
tadā:
Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottadā (अव्यय)
Formकालवाचक-अव्यय (then)
vākyamstatement; words
vākyam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootvākya (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन
bhagavānthe Blessed Lord
bhagavān:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootbhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन
kūrma-rūpa-dhṛkbearing the form of a tortoise
kūrma-rūpa-dhṛk:
Visheshana (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootkūrma (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhṛk (कृदन्त; √dhṛ/धृ धातु, ‘धृक्’ = bearer)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘कूर्मरूपं धारयति’ = bearing the tortoise-form; विशेषण (of bhagavān)
vyājahārauttered; spoke forth
vyājahāra:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Roothṛ (धातु) with vi-ā- (उपसर्ग)
Formलिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद
mahā-yogīthe great yogi
mahā-yogī:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootmahā (प्रातिपदिक) + yogin (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘महान् योगी’
bhūtānāmof beings
bhūtānām:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeNoun
Rootbhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन
pratisaṃcaramthe re-absorption; dissolution (return-movement)
pratisaṃcaram:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootpratisaṃcara (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Sūta

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

S
Sūta
L
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu)

FAQs

It frames the Supreme (here, Lord Kūrma as Mahāyogin) as the conscious source who teaches how all beings ultimately return (pratisaṃcāra) to their origin—implying a highest principle beyond changing manifested forms.

The verse identifies Lord Kūrma as “Mahāyogī,” signaling that the teaching is grounded in yogic insight: disciplined contemplation on impermanence, dissolution (pralaya), and the inward return of the elements and mind toward their causal source—core themes used to support liberation-oriented practice in the Purāṇic Yoga milieu.

While Shiva is not named in this line, the Purāṇic synthesis is implied by presenting Viṣṇu (as Kūrma) in the role of the supreme yogic teacher of cosmic dissolution—an archetypal function often associated with Śaiva metaphysics—supporting the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian Shaiva–Vaishnava integration.