Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 31
Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle
क्षीणायितं सुरैः सोममाप्यायति नित्यदा / एकेन रश्मिना विप्राः सुषुम्नाख्येन भास्करः
kṣīṇāyitaṃ suraiḥ somamāpyāyati nityadā / ekena raśminā viprāḥ suṣumnākhyena bhāskaraḥ
Hỡi các Bà-la-môn, khi Soma (Mặt Trăng) đã khuyết—bị chư thiên ‘uống’ mất—thì Mặt Trời (Bhāskara) luôn bồi bổ cho ngài, bằng một tia duy nhất mang danh Suṣumnā.
Narrator (Purāṇic discourse to the sages/brāhmaṇas)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly, it points to an ordered, law-governed cosmos (ṛta) where celestial processes are sustained by a higher regulating principle—often read in Purāṇic theology as the Lord’s governance underlying visible phenomena.
No practice is taught explicitly, but the term “Suṣumnā” invites a yogic resonance: just as a central channel is pivotal in Yoga-shāstra, a single ‘central’ ray is described as sustaining Soma—supporting contemplations on inner–outer correspondences used in meditative reflection.
The verse is primarily cosmological, yet it fits the Kurma Purana’s synthetic vision: the same supreme governance that devotees attribute to Hari or Hara is shown as maintaining cosmic balance through the Sun–Moon cycle.