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
ਜਦੋਂ ਮਹਾਵਰਖਾ ਪੈਂਦੀ ਹੈ, ਤਦ ਸਾਰਾ ਜਗਤ ਪਾਣੀ ਨਾਲ ਪੂਰੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਭਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਜਲ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਵ ਨਾਲ ਤੇਜ-ਤੱਤ ਦਬ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਅਗਨੀ-ਤੱਤ ਉਸੇ ਜਲ ਵਿੱਚ ਪ੍ਰਵੇਸ਼ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਲੀਨ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ॥
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.