Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 16
Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa
ततस्ते रश्मयः सप्त सूर्या भूत्वा चतुर्दिशम् / चतुर्लोकमिदं सर्वं दहन्ति शिखिनस्तथा
tataste raśmayaḥ sapta sūryā bhūtvā caturdiśam / caturlokamidaṃ sarvaṃ dahanti śikhinastathā
پھر وہ کرنیں سات سورج بن کر چاروں سمتوں میں بھڑک اٹھیں؛ اور آگ کی لپٹوں کی زبانوں کی طرح اس پورے چتُرلोक کو جلا ڈالیں۔
Narrator (Purāṇic discourse tradition; likely Vyāsa’s narration to sages in this section)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By depicting the fourfold world as burnable and perishable, the verse implies that all manifest realms are transient; the Atman (and the Supreme Lord as inner Self) is understood as the unburnt witness beyond cosmic dissolution.
The imagery supports vairāgya (dispassion) and dhyāna on anityatā (impermanence): meditating on pralaya reduces clinging to loka-bound aims and turns the mind toward īśvara-bhakti and inner steadiness central to Kurma Purana’s Yoga-shāstra orientation.
While not naming them directly, the pralaya motif aligns with the Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: dissolution is an act of the one Supreme Īśvara revered through both Shaiva and Vaishnava lenses, encouraging unity rather than rivalry in devotion.