Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 6
Cosmic Night, Nārāyaṇa as Brahmā, and the Varāha Raising of the Earth
तुल्यं युगसहस्त्रस्य नैशं कालमुपास्य सः / शर्वर्यन्ते प्रकुरुते ब्रह्मत्वं सर्गकारणात्
tulyaṃ yugasahastrasya naiśaṃ kālamupāsya saḥ / śarvaryante prakurute brahmatvaṃ sargakāraṇāt
तुल्यं युगसहस्रस्य नैशं कालमुपास्य सः । शर्वर्यन्ते पुनः सर्गकारणात् ब्रह्मत्वं प्रकुरुते ॥
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing cosmic cycles; aligned with the Kurma Purana’s Vishnu-as-Ishvara framework)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It implies a single supreme governance of cosmic time: the same Ishvara endures the vast ‘night’ of dissolution and then manifests the creator-function (brahmatva) to project the world again, showing transcendence over cycles while enabling them.
No specific technique is prescribed in this verse; it supplies the cosmological foundation used by Kurma Purana’s Yoga-shastra—meditation aims at the timeless Ishvara who remains steady through pralaya and creation, rather than at transient phenomena.
By presenting one overarching Ishvara who can assume the Brahmā-role for creation, the verse supports the Purana’s synthesis: sectarian forms (including Shiva/Vishnu) are expressions of one supreme lordship governing cosmic cycles.