Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 12

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

Devanagari script

ततो भवत्यनावृष्टिस्तीव्रा सा शतवार्षिकी / भूतक्षयकरी घोरा सर्वभूतक्षयङ्करी

Transliteration

tato bhavatyanāvṛṣṭistīvrā sā śatavārṣikī / bhūtakṣayakarī ghorā sarvabhūtakṣayaṅkarī

Translation

پھر ایک ہولناک بے بارانی پیدا ہوتی ہے—نہایت شدید، سو برس تک رہنے والی—جو مخلوقات کو گھلا دینے والی، خوفناک اور تمام جانداروں کی ہلاکت کا سبب بنتی ہے۔

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (Avyaya), अव्यय-प्रकारः: काल/अनन्तरार्थक (temporal adverb: 'then/thereafter')

• bhavati: becomes/occurs
• bhavati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• anāvṛṣṭiḥ: drought, absence of rain
• anāvṛṣṭiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: an-āvṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative 1st), एकवचन; समासः: नञ्-तत्पुरुष (nañ-tatpuruṣa) = a-nāvṛṣṭi ('non-rain')

• tīvrā: severe, intense
• tīvrā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tīvra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom.1), एकवचन; विशेषण (adjective) अनावृष्टेः

• sā: that (she/it)
• sā: Anuvādaka/Karta-sahacara (अनुवादक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom.1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• śatavārṣikī: lasting a hundred years
• śatavārṣikī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata-vārṣikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom.1), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय-प्रायः (determinative) = śata-vārṣikī ('of a hundred years' / 'hundred-year-long'); विशेषण अनावृष्टेः

• bhūta-kṣaya-karī: causing destruction of beings
• bhūta-kṣaya-karī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhūta-kṣaya-karī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom.1), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (determinative): bhūtānāṃ kṣayaṃ karotīti; विशेषण अनावृष्टेः

• ghorā: terrible, dreadful
• ghorā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom.1), एकवचन; विशेषण अनावृष्टेः

• sarva-bhūta-kṣayaṅkarī: bringing destruction to all beings
• sarva-bhūta-kṣayaṅkarī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva-bhūta-kṣayaṅkarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom.1), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (determinative): sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ kṣayaṃ karotīti; विशेषण अनावृष्टेः

Speaker

Sūta (narrating the Purāṇic account to the sages, describing pralaya-portents)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By depicting universal destruction as a cosmic phase, the verse implies that embodied life is impermanent; the enduring refuge taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana is the Self beyond change, known through yoga and devotion.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

This verse itself describes a pralaya-omen, but its practical implication aligns with Kurma Purana guidance: cultivate steadiness (yoga), restraint, and devotion to Īśvara so one is not shaken by worldly instability and scarcity.

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

The verse is cosmological rather than sectarian; within the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such pralaya processes are governed by the one Īśvara—honored as Hari and Hara—whose unified power presides over creation and dissolution.