Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 2

Cosmic Night, Nārāyaṇa as Brahmā, and the Varāha Raising of the Earth

एकार्णवे तदा तस्मिन् नष्टे स्थावरजङ्गमे / तदा समभवद् ब्रह्मा सहस्त्राक्षः सहस्त्रपात्

ekārṇave tadā tasmin naṣṭe sthāvarajaṅgame / tadā samabhavad brahmā sahastrākṣaḥ sahastrapāt

เมื่อในมหาสมุทรหนึ่งเดียวนั้น สรรพสิ่งทั้งอยู่กับที่และเคลื่อนไหวสูญสิ้น เหลือเพียงมหาสมุทรนั้นเท่านั้น แล้วพรหมาจึงบังเกิด—ผู้มีพันเนตรและพันบาท

ekārṇavein the single ocean (flood)
ekārṇave:
Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rooteka-arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular
tadāthen
tadā:
Kāla (काल)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottadā (अव्यय)
FormAvyaya; adverb of time (कालवाचक)
tasminin that (state/place)
tasmin:
Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter/Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; pronoun
naṣṭewhen (it) had perished
naṣṭe:
Adhikarana (अधिकरण)/Sati-saptamī (सति-सप्तमी)
TypeAdjective
Rootnaṣṭa (कृदन्त; √naś धातु)
FormLocative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; past passive participle; agrees with sthāvarajaṅgame; 'when ... had perished' (locative absolute nuance)
sthāvara-jaṅgamein the stationary and moving (beings)
sthāvara-jaṅgame:
Adhikarana (अधिकरण)/Sati-saptamī (सति-सप्तमी)
TypeNoun
Rootsthāvara-jaṅgama (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; dvandva 'stationary and moving beings'
tadāthen
tadā:
Kāla (काल)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottadā (अव्यय)
FormAvyaya; time adverb
samabhavatcame into being/arose
samabhavat:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootsam-√bhū (धातु)
FormImperfect (लङ्), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); parasmaipada
brahmāBrahmā
brahmā:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootbrahman (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
sahasrākṣaḥthousand-eyed
sahasrākṣaḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootsahasra-akṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; bahuvrīhi 'having a thousand eyes'; qualifies brahmā
sahasrapātthousand-footed
sahasrapāt:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootsahasra-pād (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; bahuvrīhi 'having a thousand feet'; qualifies brahmā

Sūta (narrator), recounting the pralaya context within the Kurma Purana’s creation narrative

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

B
Brahma
P
Pralaya
E
Ekarṇava (cosmic ocean)

FAQs

By depicting creation re-emerging after total dissolution, the verse implies a transcendent continuity beyond perishing forms—an underlying reality that supports cosmic cycles, while Brahmā functions as the manifesting creator within that order.

No specific practice is prescribed in this verse; it provides the cosmological frame used in the Kurma Purana to ground later disciplines (including Pāśupata-oriented restraint, contemplation, and devotion) by emphasizing impermanence of the world and recurrence of creation.

Indirectly: it sets a shared Purāṇic cosmology (pralaya and re-creation) within which the Kurma Purana later presents Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis—Vishnu (as Kurma) and Shiva are taught as convergent supreme principles while Brahmā operates as the cosmic creator.