Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 43
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
तेजो दशगुणेनैव बाह्यतो वायुनावृतम् / आकाशेनावृतो वायुः खं तु भूतादिनावृतम्
tejo daśaguṇenaiva bāhyato vāyunāvṛtam / ākāśenāvṛto vāyuḥ khaṃ tu bhūtādināvṛtam
تَیج بھی دس گنا ہو کر باہر سے وایو سے ڈھکا ہے؛ وایو آکاش سے گھرا ہے؛ اور آکاش بھوتادی—عناصر کے اوّلین سرچشمہ—سے محیط ہے۔
Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic cosmological teaching of the sages
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By describing layers of elemental “envelopment,” the verse implies that the Self is not any one element; Atman is distinct from these coverings and is realized by discerning the difference between the witnessing consciousness and the evolving tattvas.
It supports tattva-viveka used in meditative inquiry: tracing experience from gross elements to subtler causes, then disengaging identification with these layers—an approach aligned with Kurma Purana’s Yoga-oriented, Pāśupata-friendly purification and discrimination.
Though not naming them directly, the shared cosmological framework is typical of the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: the same tattva-order is taught within a devotional-theistic horizon where the Supreme Lord—honored as Hari-Hara in spirit—transcends and governs the elemental coverings.