Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
प्रवृष्टे च तदात्यर्थमम्भसा पूर्यते जगत् / अद्भिस्तेजोभिभूतत्वात् तदाग्निः प्रविशत्यपः
pravṛṣṭe ca tadātyarthamambhasā pūryate jagat / adbhistejobhibhūtatvāt tadāgniḥ praviśatyapaḥ
മഹാവൃഷ്ടി ആരംഭിക്കുമ്പോൾ സർവ്വജഗത്തും ജലത്താൽ പൂർണ്ണമായി നിറയുന്നു. ജലത്താൽ തേജോതത്ത്വം അഭിഭൂതമായപ്പോൾ അഗ്നിതത്ത്വം അന്നേരം ജലത്തിൽ പ്രവേശിച്ച് ലയിക്കുന്നു॥
Sūta (narrating Purāṇic cosmology to the sages, in the Kurma Purana’s discourse style)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
By describing the absorption of one element into another, the verse points to the impermanence of manifested tattvas; the stable reality implied beyond these changing elements is the witnessing Self (Ātman), untouched by creation and dissolution.
It aligns with tattva-pratyāhāra (withdrawal from the elements): the yogin contemplates the reabsorption of gross forms into subtler causes, turning awareness inward toward the unconditioned consciousness emphasized in Kurma Purana’s Yoga-oriented teachings.
Though not naming them directly, the verse supports the Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: the same supreme Lord governs pralaya through orderly tattva-absorption—understood by Shaivas as Maheśvara’s power and by Vaiṣṇavas as Nārāyaṇa’s cosmic rule.