Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 22
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
ब्राह्मी भगवती सौरी वैष्णवी च प्रकीर्तिताः / चतस्त्रः संहिताः पुण्या धर्मकामार्थमोक्षदाः
brāhmī bhagavatī saurī vaiṣṇavī ca prakīrtitāḥ / catastraḥ saṃhitāḥ puṇyā dharmakāmārthamokṣadāḥ
Sie werden verkündet als Brāhmī, Bhagavatī, Saurī und Vaiṣṇavī — vier heilige Saṃhitās, an sich rein, die Dharma, Kāma, Artha und Mokṣa verleihen.
Sūta (narrator) describing the Kurma Purana’s traditional classification of teachings
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: by presenting the four saṃhitās as granting mokṣa along with dharma, artha, and kāma, it frames liberation as a legitimate and highest human aim—implying a teaching that culminates in Self-realization beyond mere worldly goals.
No single technique is named in this verse; it functions as a cataloging statement. Its emphasis is that the Purana’s structured teachings (saṃhitās) include disciplines that can lead up to mokṣa—later expanded in the Kurma Purana’s yoga-oriented sections (including Pāśupata-leaning guidance).
By acknowledging multiple divine streams (Brāhmī, Bhagavatī, Saurī, Vaiṣṇavī) as equally holy and mokṣa-giving, it supports the Purana’s inclusive synthesis—where sectarian boundaries soften and diverse revelations are treated as converging on liberation.