Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28
Yuga-Dharma: The Four Ages, Decline of Dharma, and the Rise of Social Order
सर्वप्रत्युपयोगस्तु तासां तेभ्यः प्रजायते / वर्तयन्ति स्म तेभ्यस्तास्त्रेतायुगमुखे प्रजाः
sarvapratyupayogastu tāsāṃ tebhyaḥ prajāyate / vartayanti sma tebhyastāstretāyugamukhe prajāḥ
Aus ihnen und durch sie entsteht jeder praktische Nutzen und wechselseitiger Gebrauch; und zu Beginn des Tretā-Yuga führten die Menschen ihr Leben und die soziale Ordnung gemäß jenen Pflichten und Einrichtungen.
Suta (narrator) conveying the Kurma Purana’s account of yuga-wise dharma
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
This verse is primarily socio-cosmic rather than directly metaphysical: it frames how dharma-based institutions generate “all practical applications” for human life. In Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis, such ordered dharma supports inner purification that later enables Atman-realization through yoga and devotion.
No specific yogic technique is named here. The verse functions as groundwork: it emphasizes structured dharma and disciplined conduct as the enabling conditions that, in the Kurma Purana’s larger teaching (including Pashupata-oriented yoga themes), mature into sādhana such as restraint, purity, and devotion.
The verse does not explicitly mention Shiva or Vishnu; its focus is yuga-wise societal dharma. In the Kurma Purana’s overall Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such dharma is upheld as a divine ordinance that supports both Śaiva (Pāśupata) and Vaiṣṇava paths toward liberation.