Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 11

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

Devanagari script

चतुर्युगसहस्रान्ते संप्राप्ते प्रतिसंचरे / स्वात्मसंस्थाः प्रजाः कर्तुं प्रतिपेदे प्रजापतिः

Transliteration

caturyugasahasrānte saṃprāpte pratisaṃcare / svātmasaṃsthāḥ prajāḥ kartuṃ pratipede prajāpatiḥ

Translation

当宏大的回归消融之轮转，至一千个四时代（caturyuga）之终时，生主（Prajāpati）便着手令众生再度出生，使一切受造安住于他自身之我中。

Word by Word

• catur-yuga-sahasra-ante: at the end of a thousand four-yuga cycles
• catur-yuga-sahasra-ante: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana; multi-member tatpuruṣa: caturyugānāṃ sahasrasya antaḥ → ‘at the end of a thousand (sets of) four yugas’

• saṃprāpte: when (it) had come/arrived
• saṃprāpte: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√prāp (प्राप्, धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: Kta-participle used locatively (saptamī absolute-like), Napuṃsakaliṅga/puṃliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana; ‘when (it) has arrived’

• pratisaṃcare: during the re-absorption (pratisaṃcara)
• pratisaṃcare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati-saṃcara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa with prefixes prati-/sam-: ‘in the re-absorption/returning (cycle)’

• sva-ātma-saṃsthāḥ: abiding in their own selves
• sva-ātma-saṃsthāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃstha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: svātmani saṃsthāḥ ‘resting in their own self’; qualifies prajāḥ

• prajāḥ: creatures/subjects
• prajāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā vibhakti (accusative, 2nd), Bahuvacana; object of kartuṃ / pratipede (intended action)

• kartum: to make/create
• kartum: Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ, धातु) + tumun (तुमुन्)
• Form: Tumun-infinitive (kṛdanta), purpose (prayojana)

• pratipede: undertook/began
• pratipede: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati-√pad (पद्, धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (perfect), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; ātmanepada; ‘set about/undertook/entered upon’

• prajāpatiḥ: Prajāpati (lord of beings)
• prajāpatiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक) + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: prajānāṃ patiḥ ‘lord of creatures’; subject of pratipede

Speaker

Narratorial voice (Purāṇic narrator describing cosmic cycles; traditionally within the Sūta–sage discourse frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Prajāpati
• Caturyuga
• Pratisancara (Pralaya)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It depicts beings as re-emerging while “resting in the Self” (svātmasaṃsthāḥ), implying that creation is a re-projection grounded in an underlying self-principle rather than an absolute beginning from nothing.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is prescribed in this verse, but its key yogic idea is re-centering all beings in the Self—an orientation consistent with Kurma Purana teachings where liberation involves abiding in the inner Self beyond cyclical creation and dissolution.

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

It does not name Shiva or Vishnu directly; instead it presents a theistic-cosmological principle (Prajāpati) operating through dissolution and re-creation, compatible with the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis where the one supreme reality is expressed through different divine forms.