Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 37
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
तस्मिन् कार्यस्य करणं संसिद्धिः परमेष्ठिनः / प्राकृते ऽण्डे विवृत्तः स क्षेत्रज्ञो ब्रह्मसंज्ञितः
tasmin kāryasya karaṇaṃ saṃsiddhiḥ parameṣṭhinaḥ / prākṛte 'ṇḍe vivṛttaḥ sa kṣetrajño brahmasaṃjñitaḥ
ภายในไข่นั้น เครื่องมือแห่งงานสร้างสรรค์และความสำเร็จสมบูรณ์แห่งพระประสงค์ของพระผู้เป็นเจ้าสูงสุดได้บังเกิดขึ้น ในไข่ปฺรากฤตะนั้น กษेत्रชญะผู้รู้แห่งสนามได้ปรากฏ ผู้เป็นที่รู้จักในนามว่า พรหมา
Sūta (narrator) describing the cosmogony to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the conscious principle as kṣetrajña (the Knower), which manifests within the primordial cosmos as Brahmā—implying that creation proceeds through a supreme intention (Parameṣṭhin) and a conscious knower that presides over the field (kṣetra) of Prakṛti.
No specific practice is prescribed in this verse; instead it supplies a Sāṃkhya-Yoga foundation used later in the Kurma Purana: discerning kṣetra (Prakṛti/body-mind) from kṣetrajña (awareness), a key contemplative discrimination that supports Yoga and Pāśupata-style renunciation and insight.
By attributing cosmic accomplishment to the supreme Parameṣṭhin while describing Brahmā as the manifested kṣetrajña, the verse supports the Purāṇa’s non-sectarian frame: one supreme lordly reality governs creation, harmonizing Shaiva-Vaishnava theological language rather than separating it.