Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 43
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
धाराभिः पूरयन्तीदं चोद्यमानाः स्वयंभुवा / अत्यन्तसलिलौघैश्च वेला इव महोदधिः
dhārābhiḥ pūrayantīdaṃ codyamānāḥ svayaṃbhuvā / atyantasalilaughaiśca velā iva mahodadhiḥ
स्वयंभू प्रभूच्या प्रेरणेने जलधारा हे सर्व जगत् भरून टाकतात; आणि प्रचंड जलप्रवाहांनी जणू महासागर आपली वेला ओलांडतो तसे होते॥
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator in the Kurma Purana’s discourse framework)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
Indirectly: it portrays cosmic events as operating under a higher impulsion (svayambhu), implying an ordering intelligence behind change—while the Atman, in Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis, remains the steady witness beyond such upheavals.
No technique is stated explicitly; the verse functions as cosmological instruction. In Kurma Purana’s larger Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such pralaya imagery supports vairāgya (dispassion) and steadiness of mind—foundational attitudes for Pāśupata Yoga and Ishvara-centered meditation taught more directly in the Upari-bhaga.
It does not name Shiva or Vishnu directly; instead it emphasizes a single divine governance of cosmic processes (svayambhu’s impulsion). This aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian tendency to read cosmic authority as ultimately one, even when expressed through different divine forms elsewhere.