Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 18
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
ते सूर्या वारिणा दीप्ता बहुसाहस्त्ररश्मयः / खं समावृत्य तिष्ठन्ति निर्दहन्तो वसुंधराम्
te sūryā vāriṇā dīptā bahusāhastraraśmayaḥ / khaṃ samāvṛtya tiṣṭhanti nirdahanto vasuṃdharām
ਉਹ ਸੂਰਜ ਜਲ ਦੀ ਨਮੀ ਨਾਲ ਦਿੱਪਦੇ ਹੋਏ, ਅਨੇਕਾਂ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਕਿਰਣਾਂ ਵਾਲੇ ਬਣ ਕੇ ਆਕਾਸ਼ ਨੂੰ ਢੱਕ ਕੇ ਖੜੇ ਰਹੇ ਅਤੇ ਧਰਤੀ ਨੂੰ ਸਾੜਨ ਲੱਗ ਪਏ।
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator in the Kurma Purana’s discourse frame; traditionally Sūta relating the account to sages)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly, by portraying world-conditions as mutable and consumable by cosmic forces; the implied teaching is vairāgya—turning from perishable phenomena toward the imperishable Self beyond creation and dissolution.
No technique is stated explicitly; the verse functions as a contemplative support (dhyāna-upakaraṇa) for dispassion and inwardness—using pralaya imagery to steady the mind toward disciplined practice taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana (including Pāśupata-oriented restraint and devotion).
It does not name Śiva or Viṣṇu directly, but it fits the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis: cosmic processes (creation/dissolution) are governed by Īśvara—understood across the text as a unified supreme reality revered through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava lenses.