Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 25
Karma-yoga Discipline for the Twice-born: Upanayana, Upavīta Conduct, Guru-veneration, and Alms-regimen
ब्राह्मणं कुशलं पृच्छेत् क्षत्रबन्धुमनामयम् / वैश्यं क्षेमं समागम्य शूद्रमारोग्यमेव तु
brāhmaṇaṃ kuśalaṃ pṛcchet kṣatrabandhumanāmayam / vaiśyaṃ kṣemaṃ samāgamya śūdramārogyameva tu
إذا لقيتَ برهمنًا فاسأله عن عافيته؛ والكشاتريا فاسأله عن خلوّه من الأذى؛ وإذا اجتمعتَ بالفيشيا فاسأله عن الأمن والرخاء؛ وأما الشودرَة فحقًّا لا يُسأل إلا عن الصحة وحدها.
Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) instructing on dharma and social etiquette within varṇāśrama
Primary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames dharmic conduct (right speech and inquiry) as a foundational discipline that steadies the mind—an outer order that supports inner pursuit of the Self taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.
No technique is taught directly; the verse emphasizes yama-like ethical culture—courteous, appropriate inquiry aligned with varṇāśrama—supporting the mental purity required for higher practices such as Pāśupata-oriented devotion, japa, and contemplation described in later teachings.
It does so implicitly: dharma is presented as a universal framework upheld by the Purana’s integrated Śaiva-Vaiṣṇava vision, where devotion and discipline—whether oriented to Śiva or Viṣṇu—rest on shared ethical order.