Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16
Yamunā–Gaṅgā Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Agni-tīrtha, Anaraka, Prayāga, and the Tapovana of Jāhnavī
भूसमुद्रादिसंस्थानं प्रमाणं ज्योतिषां स्थितम् / पृष्टः प्रोवाच सकलमुक्त्वाथ प्रययो मुनिः
bhūsamudrādisaṃsthānaṃ pramāṇaṃ jyotiṣāṃ sthitam / pṛṣṭaḥ provāca sakalamuktvātha prayayo muniḥ
فلما سُئِلَ، بيَّنَ الحكيمُ ترتيبَ الأرضِ والبحارِ بيانًا تامًّا، وذكرَ المقاديرَ والمواضعَ المقرَّرةَ للأنوارِ السماوية؛ فلما أتمَّ القولَ في كلِّ شيءٍ انصرفَ الموني.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator) describing a sage’s reply and departure
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse is primarily cosmographical and narrative: it records a sage teaching the world’s arrangement and the luminaries’ measures. It does not directly define Ātman, but it reflects the Purāṇic method of transmitting ordered knowledge (tattva-vyavasthā) through realized sages.
No specific Yoga practice is prescribed in this verse. Indirectly, it emphasizes śravaṇa (attentive listening to authoritative teaching) as a foundational discipline that supports later contemplative practice in the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis.
This verse does not explicitly mention Shiva or Vishnu; it functions as a transition after cosmological instruction. The Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis is expressed elsewhere, while here the focus is on cosmography and the authority of the sage’s exposition.