Shloka 4
Manvantaras, Indras, Saptarṣis, and the Seven Sustaining Manifestations; Vyāsa as Nārāyaṇa
सूत उवाच मनुः स्वायंभुवः पूर्वं ततः स्वारोचिषो मनुः / उत्तमस्तामसश्चैव रैवतश्चाक्षुषस्तथा
sūta uvāca manuḥ svāyaṃbhuvaḥ pūrvaṃ tataḥ svārociṣo manuḥ / uttamastāmasaścaiva raivataścākṣuṣastathā
قال سوتا: أولاً كان مانو سْفايَمبهوفا؛ ثم جاء مانو سْفاروچيشا. ثم (جاء) أوتّما، وتاماسا، ورايفاتا، وكذلك تشاكشوشا (مانو).
Sūta
Primary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it frames Purāṇic sacred history through the succession of Manus, implying an ordered cosmic governance under a higher, regulating principle that later teachings identify with Īśvara.
No specific yogic practice is taught in this verse; it serves as a cosmological index (manvantara sequencing) that contextualizes later Kurma Purana teachings on dharma, devotion, and discipline, including Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis and yogic restraint in other sections.
This verse is neutral on Shiva–Vishnu theology; it focuses on manvantara chronology. In the Kurma Purana’s broader frame, such chronology is part of a unified sacred order upheld by the Supreme, harmonizing Shaiva and Vaishnava perspectives elsewhere in the text.