Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

ज्ञानादात्यन्तिकः प्रोक्तो योगिनः परमात्मनि / प्रलयः प्रतिसर्गो ऽयं कालचिन्तापरैर्द्विजैः

Transliteration

jñānādātyantikaḥ prokto yoginaḥ paramātmani / pralayaḥ pratisargo 'yaṃ kālacintāparairdvijaiḥ

Translation

Nhờ trí tuệ giải thoát, người du-già được dạy rằng sẽ tan nhập tuyệt đối vào Tối Thượng Ngã (Paramātman). Sự hủy diệt ấy cùng sự tái tạo tiếp theo được các bậc hiền triết song sinh (dvija) chuyên chú quán niệm Kāla (Thời) giảng bày.

Word by Word

• jñānāt: from/through knowledge
• jñānāt: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Pañcamī vibhakti (ablative, 5th), Ekavacana; hetu/source sense

• ātyantikaḥ: ultimate/absolute
• ātyantikaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātyantika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; viśeṣaṇa (of pralayaḥ/pratisargaḥ by context)

• proktaḥ: is declared
• proktaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्, धातु) + pra- + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kta-participle (past passive participle), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate ‘said’

• yoginaḥ: of the yogin(s)
• yoginaḥ: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yogin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti, Ekavacana; genitive ‘of the yogin’ (or class-genitive)

• paramātmani: in the Supreme Self
• paramātmani: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parama-ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī vibhakti, Ekavacana; karmadhāraya: paramaḥ ātmā → paramātmā; locative ‘in the Supreme Self’

• pralayaḥ: dissolution
• pralayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pralaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; appositional with pratisargaḥ

• pratisargaḥ: secondary creation (here: re-absorption/phase)
• pratisargaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati-sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; apposition to pralayaḥ; subject understood with proktaḥ

• ayam: this
• ayam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; demonstrative qualifying pratisargaḥ

• kāla-cintā-paraiḥ: by those devoted to contemplation on time
• kāla-cintā-paraiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + cintā (प्रातिपदिक) + para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: kālasya cintāyāṃ paraḥ ‘devoted to reflection on time’; qualifies dvijaiḥ

• dvijaiḥ: by the twice-born (brahmins)
• dvijaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā, Bahuvacana

Speaker

Narratorial teaching within the Purāṇic discourse (sages describing cosmology and yoga-doctrine)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Paramatman
• Kala
• Dvijas
• Yogin

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It frames liberation as an “ultimate dissolution” (ātyantika-pralaya) where the yogin, through knowledge, abides in or merges into the Paramātman beyond cyclical creation and dissolution.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes jñāna (liberating insight) and kāla-cintā (contemplation of Time) as contemplative disciplines used by sages to understand cosmic cycles and the yogin’s final release.

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

While not naming them directly, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis by centering liberation in the single Paramātman and treating cosmic functions (dissolution and re-creation) as governed by universal Kāla rather than sectarian rivalry.