Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
आपश्चापि विकुर्वन्त्यो गन्धमात्रं ससर्जिरे / संघातो जायते तस्मात् तस्य गन्धो गुणो मतः
āpaścāpi vikurvantyo gandhamātraṃ sasarjire / saṃghāto jāyate tasmāt tasya gandho guṇo mataḥ
நீர்களும் மாற்றமடைந்து, கந்த-தன்மாத்திரம் ஒன்றையே உண்டாக்குகின்றன. அதிலிருந்து சங்காதம் (திடத்தன்மை/கூட்டம்) தோன்றுகிறது; ஆகவே கந்தமே அதன் குணம் எனக் கருதப்படுகிறது.
Sūta (narrating the cosmological teaching as transmitted in the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By mapping smell and solidity as effects of elemental transformation, the verse implies the Atman is distinct from changing qualities (guṇas) and material evolutes; the Self is the witness beyond such produced attributes.
This supports tattva-viveka (discernment of principles): a contemplative practice used in Pashupata- and Ishvara-oriented sadhana to disidentify from sensory qualities (like smell) and stabilize awareness in the inner witness.
Though not naming them directly, the teaching aligns with the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: the same Supreme Ishvara—revered as Shiva or Vishnu—presides over the orderly evolution of tattvas, making cosmology a shared theological ground.