Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 123
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
पृष्टः प्रोवाच सकलं पुराणं कौर्ममुत्तमम् / सन्निधौ देवराजस्य तद् वक्ष्ये भवतामहम्
pṛṣṭaḥ provāca sakalaṃ purāṇaṃ kaurmamuttamam / sannidhau devarājasya tad vakṣye bhavatāmaham
ولمّا سُئِلَ، شرحَ شرحًا تامًّا «الكورما بورانا» العليّة في حضرةِ ملكِ الآلهة؛ وتلك الروايةُ بعينها سأقصّها عليكم الآن.
Suta (the narrator transmitting the Purana to the assembled sages)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is primarily a transmission formula: it establishes authoritative recitation (śruti-like continuity) rather than defining Ātman directly; its implication is that liberating knowledge is received through a sanctified lineage of questioning and teaching.
No specific practice is taught in this line; it functions as a prologue indicating that the forthcoming Kurma Purana discourse will be delivered in full—within which disciplines like Pāśupata-oriented devotion, dharma, and yogic restraint are later detailed.
Indirectly: by presenting the Kurma Purana as an ‘excellent’ complete teaching handed down in a divine setting, it frames the text as a harmonizing authority where later sections integrate Śaiva (Pāśupata) and Vaiṣṇava (Kurma/Nārāyaṇa) perspectives without contradiction.