Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 50
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
यो ऽयं प्रवर्तते कल्पो वाराहः सात्त्विको मतः / अन्ये च सात्त्विकाः कल्पा मम तेषु परिग्रहः
yo 'yaṃ pravartate kalpo vārāhaḥ sāttviko mataḥ / anye ca sāttvikāḥ kalpā mama teṣu parigrahaḥ
ഇപ്പോൾ പ്രവഹിക്കുന്ന ഈ കല്പം വരാഹ-കല്പം; ഇത് സാത്ത്വികമെന്ന് കരുതപ്പെടുന്നു. മറ്റു സാത്ത്വിക കല്പങ്ങളും ഉണ്ട്; അവയിൽ എനിക്ക് പ്രത്യേക സ്വീകരണവും ബന്ധവും ഉണ്ട്।
Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) speaking to the sages (in the Kurma Purana’s narrative frame)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By identifying the present cosmic cycle as “sāttvika” and personally “accepted” by the Lord, the verse implies a Supreme governance that orders creation through guṇas—yet remains the conscious overseer beyond the cycles it administers.
While not prescribing a specific technique, the emphasis on “sāttvika” points to purity-based sādhana—truthfulness, restraint, sattva-increasing conduct and worship—found throughout the Kurma Purana’s dharma-and-yoga framework (including Pāśupata-oriented disciplines).
It presents Viṣṇu (as Kūrma) as the cosmic regulator of kalpas through sattva; in the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis, this governance is compatible with Śaiva-Pāśupata theology, where the one Supreme is praised through both Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva idioms.