Shloka 42

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

Devanagari script

नष्टे चाग्नौ वर्षशतैः पयोदाः क्षयसंभवाः / प्लावयन्तो ऽथ भुवनं महाजलपरिस्त्रवैः

Transliteration

naṣṭe cāgnau varṣaśataiḥ payodāḥ kṣayasaṃbhavāḥ / plāvayanto 'tha bhuvanaṃ mahājalaparistravaiḥ

Translation

Apabila api telah padam, selama ratusan tahun awan—lahir daripada pralaya (peleraian kosmos)—melimpahi segala dunia, menenggelamkan bumi dengan curahan air yang maha deras.

Word by Word

• नष्टे: when (it was) destroyed
• नष्टे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नश् (धातु) → नष्ट (कृदन्त)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter); भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle, क्त) — ‘when/after having been destroyed’ (locative absolute sense)

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• अग्नौ: in the fire
• अग्नौ: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन (singular)

• वर्षशतैः: by hundreds of years
• वर्षशतैः: करण (Karaṇa/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष-शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन (plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (genitive determinative): वर्षाणां शतानि = ‘hundreds of years’

• पयोदाः: clouds
• पयोदाः: कर्ता (Kartā/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयोद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन (plural)

• क्षयसंभवाः: born of dissolution
• क्षयसंभवाः: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षय-सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन (plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: क्षयस्य सम्भवाः = ‘arising from destruction/dissolution’ (qualifying पयोदाः)

• प्लावयन्तः: flooding
• प्लावयन्तः: कर्ता (Kartā/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्लु (धातु) → प्लावयत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle, शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन (plural); परस्मैपदी-भावः — ‘flooding’ (agreeing with पयोदाः)

• अथ: then
• अथ: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• भुवनम्: the world
• भुवनम्: कर्म (Karma/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (singular)

• महाजलपरिस्त्रवैः: with huge torrents of water
• महाजलपरिस्त्रवैः: करण (Karaṇa/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-जला-परिस्त्रव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन (plural); कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समासभावः: महत् जलं (महाजलम्) तस्य परिस्त्रवाः = ‘great-water outflows/streams’

Speaker

Suta (narrator) recounting the Kurma Purana’s pralaya description in the discourse lineage

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Characters & Entities

• Agni (pralaya-fire)
• Payoda (clouds)
• Pralaya (dissolution)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

By portraying the worlds as periodically consumed and re-flooded, the verse implies that all manifest forms are impermanent; the Atman/Ishvara is the constant reality that remains untouched while cosmic processes of dissolution unfold.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is named in this verse, but its pralaya imagery supports Kurma Purana Yoga-shastra themes: cultivate vairagya (dispassion) and steady contemplation of Ishvara beyond changing elements—an orientation consistent with Pashupata Yoga’s inward turning from transient phenomena.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

Though not naming them directly, the pralaya framework is shared across Shaiva and Vaishnava teachings in the Kurma Purana: dissolution is a divine ordinance under the one Supreme Lord, harmonizing sectarian language within a non-contradictory, unified theistic vision.