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Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 37

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

मनः शिलाभास्त्वन्ये च कपोतसदृशाः परे / इन्द्रगोपनिभाः केचिद्धरितालनिभास्तथा / इन्द्रचापनिभाः केचिदुत्तिष्ठन्ति घना दिवि

manaḥ śilābhāstvanye ca kapotasadṛśāḥ pare / indragopanibhāḥ keciddharitālanibhāstathā / indracāpanibhāḥ keciduttiṣṭhanti ghanā divi

کچھ بادل منہ شِلا (سیاہ پتھر) جیسے تھے، کچھ کبوتر کے مانند۔ کچھ اندراگوپ کیڑے کی طرح سرخ، کچھ ہریتَال کی طرح زرد؛ اور کچھ گھنے بادل آسمان میں اٹھ کر اندرا کے کمان (قوسِ قزح) کی صورت اختیار کرتے تھے۔

manaḥ(their) form/appearance (lit. mind)
manaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootmanas (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)
śilābhāḥstone-colored/stone-like
śilābhāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootśilā-ābhā (प्रातिपदिक; शिला+आभा)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); compound: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपमान-निर्देश (stone-like)
tubut/indeed
tu:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottu (अव्यय)
FormParticle (निपात) expressing contrast/emphasis
anyeothers
anye:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootanya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
FormConjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
kapota-sadṛśāḥlike pigeons
kapota-sadṛśāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootkapota-sadṛśa (प्रातिपदिक; कपोत+सदृश)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); compound: उपमान-तत्पुरुष (pigeon-like)
pareothers (further ones)
pare:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootpara (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)
indra-gopa-nibhāḥlike indragopa insects (red)
indra-gopa-nibhāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootindra-gopa-nibha (प्रातिपदिक; इन्द्रगोप+निभ)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); compound: उपमान-तत्पुरुष (like indragopa insect)
kecitsome
kecit:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkim (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); indefinite pronoun (अनिश्चित सर्वनाम)
haritāla-nibhāḥlike haritāla (yellow)
haritāla-nibhāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootharitāla-nibha (प्रातिपदिक; हरिताल+निभ)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); compound: उपमान-तत्पुरुष (like orpiment/yellow pigment)
tathālikewise/also
tathā:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottathā (अव्यय)
FormAdverb (क्रियाविशेषण)
indra-cāpa-nibhāḥlike rainbows
indra-cāpa-nibhāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootindra-cāpa-nibha (प्रातिपदिक; इन्द्रचाप+निभ)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); compound: उपमान-तत्पुरुष (like a rainbow)
kecitsome
kecit:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkim (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); indefinite pronoun (अनिश्चित सर्वनाम)
uttiṣṭhantirise up/stand forth
uttiṣṭhanti:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootut-√sthā (धातु)
FormPresent tense (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन)
ghanāḥclouds
ghanāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootghana (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)
diviin the sky
divi:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootdiv (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

Narrator (Purana narrator continuing the description of observed omens/signs)

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

I
Indra
I
Indra’s bow (rainbow)
I
Indragopa

FAQs

It does not directly teach Atman-doctrine; instead it describes changing cloud-forms as worldly phenomena, which in Purāṇic reading supports the broader insight that appearances are transient signs within cosmic order.

No explicit yogic technique is taught in this verse; indirectly, it encourages attentive observation (sūkṣma-dṛṣṭi) and discernment—qualities valued in dharma and in the contemplative disciplines discussed elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.

It does not mention Shiva or Vishnu explicitly; it functions as a descriptive passage of natural omens, while the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis of Shaiva–Vaishnava theology is developed in other sections.