Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 38

Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa

Devanagari script

केचित् पर्वतसंकाशाः केचिद् गजकुलोपमाः / कूटाङ्गारनिभाश्चान्ये केचिन्मीनकुलोद्वहाः / बहूरूपा घोरूपा घोरस्वरनिनादिनः

Transliteration

kecit parvatasaṃkāśāḥ kecid gajakulopamāḥ / kūṭāṅgāranibhāścānye kecinmīnakulodvahāḥ / bahūrūpā ghorūpā ghorasvaraninādinaḥ

Translation

May mga ulap na parang bundok, may mga ulap na tulad ng kawan ng mga elepante. Ang iba’y wari’y bunton ng nagliliyab na uling, at ang iba nama’y tila pinakamatipuno sa isang pulutong ng isda. Sari-saring anyo, nakapanghihilakbot ang hitsura, at umuugong sa nakatatakot na dagundong ng kulog.

Word by Word

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; indefinite pronoun

• parvata-saṃkāśāḥ: resembling mountains
• parvata-saṃkāśāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parvata-saṃkāśa (प्रातिपदिक; पर्वत+संकाश)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; compound: उपमान-तत्पुरुष (mountain-like)

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; indefinite pronoun

• gaja-kula-upamāḥ: like herds of elephants
• gaja-kula-upamāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gaja-kula-upama (प्रातिपदिक; गजकुल+उपम)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; compound: उपमान-तत्पुरुष (like a herd of elephants)

• kūṭa-aṅgāra-nibhāḥ: like piles of embers
• kūṭa-aṅgāra-nibhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kūṭa-aṅgāra-nibha (प्रातिपदिक; कूट+अङ्गार+निभ)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; compound: उपमान-तत्पुरुष (like heaps of embers)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; indefinite pronoun

• mīna-kula-udvahāḥ: bearing shoals of fish
• mīna-kula-udvahāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mīna-kula-udvaha (प्रातिपदिक; मीनकुल+उद्वह)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; compound: तत्पुरुष (bearers/raisers of shoals of fish; i.e., fish-laden)

• bahu-rūpāḥ: many-formed
• bahu-rūpāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu-rūpa (प्रातिपदिक; बहु+रूप)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; कर्मधारय (many-formed)

• ghora-rūpāḥ: terrible in form
• ghora-rūpāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora-rūpa (प्रातिपदिक; घोर+रूप)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; कर्मधारय (terrible-formed)

• ghora-svara-ninādinaḥ: roaring with dreadful sounds
• ghora-svara-ninādinaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora-svara-ninādin (प्रातिपदिक; घोर+स्वर+निनादिन्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1), Plural; compound: तत्पुरुष (having roaring with terrible sound)

Speaker

Narratorial voice within the Kurma Purana (sage-narration describing extraordinary beings/hosts in the cosmic geography context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Kurma Purana
• cosmic hosts
• mountain-like beings
• elephant-like hosts
• fish-host leaders

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

Indirectly: by portraying radically diverse and fearsome forms, the verse supports a Purāṇic-Yogic insight that external forms are mutable manifestations within prakṛti, while the witnessing Self (Ātman) remains unchanged beyond such appearances.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is prescribed in this verse; however, its imagery functions as a contemplation aid for vairāgya (dispassion) and steadiness—training the mind to remain undisturbed by frightening or grand phenomenal forms, a prerequisite emphasized across Kurma Purana’s Yoga-oriented teachings.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

It does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; yet within the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such cosmological descriptions are framed as occurring within one divine order (Īśvara-tattva), harmonizing Shaiva and Vaishnava perspectives on the governance of the manifest world.