Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 5
Bhūrloka-Vyavasthā — The Seven Dvīpas, Seven Oceans, and the Meru-Centered Order of Jambūdvīpa
पञ्चाशत्कोटिविस्तीर्णा ससमुद्रा धरा स्मृता / द्वीपैश्च सप्तभिर्युक्ता योजनानां समासतः
pañcāśatkoṭivistīrṇā sasamudrā dharā smṛtā / dvīpaiśca saptabhiryuktā yojanānāṃ samāsataḥ
Die Erde, zusammen mit den sie umgebenden Ozeanen, wird als fünfzig Krore (an Yojanas) breit überliefert. Und kurz gesagt wird sie als ausgestattet mit den sieben Dvīpas beschrieben, gemessen in Yojanas.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the sages (cosmographic exposition)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it establishes the ordered cosmic field (loka-vyavasthā) within which dharma and spiritual inquiry unfold, a common Purāṇic preface to later metaphysical teaching.
No specific yoga technique is taught in this verse; it provides cosmographic orientation. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmology frames disciplines like Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā and devotion by situating the practitioner within a divinely ordered universe.
The verse is descriptive rather than sectarian; by presenting a shared cosmology spoken in a Purāṇic teaching voice, it supports the Kurma Purana’s general tendency toward a unified sacred order that later accommodates both Shaiva and Vaishnava theological emphases.