Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 25
Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya
आकाशस्तु विकुर्वाणः स्पर्शमात्रं ससर्ज ह / वायुरुत्पद्यते तस्मात् तस्य स्पर्शो गुणो मतः
ākāśastu vikurvāṇaḥ sparśamātraṃ sasarja ha / vāyurutpadyate tasmāt tasya sparśo guṇo mataḥ
Ākāśa (hư không) khi biến hóa chỉ sinh ra nguyên lý vi tế của xúc chạm. Từ đó phát sinh vāyu (gió), và xúc chạm được xem là phẩm tính của nó.
Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic sarga-teaching in the Kurma Purana’s cosmology section
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By mapping how gross elements arise from subtler principles, the verse implicitly distinguishes the changing tattvas (ākāśa, vāyu, guṇas) from the unchanging witnessing Self (Ātman), which is not a produced effect but the seer of all evolution.
This supports tattva-vicāra (contemplation of principles): a yogin traces experience back from sensory qualities (like touch) to their subtle causes, cultivating dispassion and one-pointed meditation—an approach compatible with Kurma Purana’s Yoga-shastra orientation and later Pāśupata-leaning discipline.
Though not naming them, the teaching reflects a shared Purāṇic metaphysics used in both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava frameworks: the same cosmic order of tattvas is presented as governed by the one supreme Lord (Īśvara), allowing a non-sectarian synthesis characteristic of the Kurma Purana.