Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 98
Cosmic Manifestation, Mahāmāyā’s Mandate, Varṇāśrama-Dharma, and the Unity of the Trimūrti
चतुर्णामाश्रमाणां तु प्रोक्तो ऽयं विधिवद्द्विजाः / आश्रमो वैष्णवो ब्राह्मो हराश्रम इति त्रयः
caturṇāmāśramāṇāṃ tu prokto 'yaṃ vidhivaddvijāḥ / āśramo vaiṣṇavo brāhmo harāśrama iti trayaḥ
হে দ্বিজসকল, চাৰি আশ্ৰম সম্পৰ্কে এই বিধি যথাবিধি কোৱা হৈছে: সেয়া তিন প্ৰকাৰ—বৈষ্ণৱ আশ্ৰম, ব্ৰাহ্ম (ব্ৰহ্মা-সম্পৰ্কীয়) আশ্ৰম আৰু হৰ-আশ্ৰম (শৈৱ আশ্ৰম)।
Suta (narrator) conveying the Kurma Purana’s dharma-teaching in the discourse-context
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It does not directly define Ātman; instead, it frames spiritual life through dharma by classifying āśrama-orientation as Vaiṣṇava, Brāhma, or Hara—implying multiple sanctioned pathways for realizing the highest principle.
No specific practice is listed; the verse sets the institutional context—āśrama-discipline—within which practices like mantra-japa, pūjā, tapas, and (in later Kurma Purana sections) Pāśupata-oriented sādhana are undertaken.
By naming both Vaiṣṇava and Hara āśramas as valid categories under one rule, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance—Śiva and Viṣṇu-oriented disciplines are treated as legitimate dharmic modes rather than mutually exclusive.