Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 30

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

Devanagari script

योजनानां शतानीह सहस्राण्ययुतानि च / उत्तिष्ठन्ति शिखास्तस्य वह्नेः संवर्तकस्य तु

Transliteration

yojanānāṃ śatānīha sahasrāṇyayutāni ca / uttiṣṭhanti śikhāstasya vahneḥ saṃvartakasya tu

Translation

Tại đây, ngọn lửa của Saṃvartaka—lửa của sự hoại diệt—vươn cao hàng trăm yojana, rồi đến hàng nghìn, hàng vạn yojana.

Word by Word

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas (leagues)
• योजनानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Visheshana (विशेषण/measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (here as measure: 'hundreds')

• इह: here
• इह: Kriya-vishesana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/प्रसङ्ग-वाचक अव्यय (adverb: here/in this context)

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Visheshana (विशेषण/measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (as measure: 'thousands')

• अयुतानि: ten-thousands
• अयुतानि: Visheshana (विशेषण/measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (as measure: 'ten-thousands')

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• उत्तिष्ठन्ति: rise up; stand forth
• उत्तिष्ठन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत्-स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present); परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

• शिखाः: flames
• शिखाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तस्य: of that; his/its
• तस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (pronoun)

• वह्नेः: of the fire
• वह्नेः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वह्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• संवर्तकस्य: of Saṃvartaka (the world-ending one)
• संवर्तकस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संवर्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator, traditionally Sūta speaking to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Characters & Entities

• Saṃvartaka-agni

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by portraying pralaya as a vast, law-governed dissolution, the verse supports the Purāṇic view that transient worlds are cyclic, while the Supreme Reality (Īśvara/Ātman) remains the stable ground beyond creation and destruction.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is named in this verse; its practical thrust is vairāgya (dispassion). Contemplating pralaya is used in Yoga-śāstra contexts to loosen attachment and turn the mind toward Īśvara as the refuge beyond cosmic change.

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

The verse is cosmological rather than sectarian; in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, dissolution operates under Īśvara’s governance—read as compatible with both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava frames—emphasizing one supreme order behind pralaya.