Shloka 1
Sūrya’s Celestial Car: Ādityas, Ṛṣis, Gandharvas, Apsarases, Nāgas, and the Two-Month Cosmic Cycle
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितार्या पूर्वविभागे एकोनचत्वारिंशो ऽध्यायः सूत उवाच स रथो ऽधिष्ठितो देवैरादित्यैर्वसुभिस्तथा / गन्धर्वैरप्सरोभिश्च ग्रामणीसर्पराक्षसैः
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāryā pūrvavibhāge ekonacatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ sūta uvāca sa ratho 'dhiṣṭhito devairādityairvasubhistathā / gandharvairapsarobhiśca grāmaṇīsarparākṣasaiḥ
So beginnt im Śrī Kūrma-Purāṇa, in der Ṣaṭsāhasrī-Saṃhitā, im ersten Teil (Pūrvabhāga), das vierzigste Kapitel. Sūta sprach: Jener Wagen wurde von den Göttern bestiegen—von den Ādityas und ebenso von den Vasus—zusammen mit Gandharvas und Apsaras; auch von Heerführern, von Nāgas und von Rākṣasas.
Sūta
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
This verse is primarily descriptive, presenting a cosmic assembly around a chariot; it implies the Purāṇic vision that all classes of beings—celestial, semi-divine, and liminal—participate within one ordered reality ultimately governed by the Supreme.
No specific yogic technique is taught in this verse; it sets a narrative stage that later supports Kurma Purana teachings on dharma and (in the Upari-bhāga) disciplined spiritual practice such as Pāśupata-oriented devotion and inner restraint.
The verse does not name Śiva or Viṣṇu directly; however, by gathering diverse divine and non-human orders into one sacred narrative space, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s broader integrative tone that later articulates harmony between Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava perspectives.