Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 12
Sapta-dvīpa Cosmography and the Vision of Śvetadvīpa–Vaikuṇṭha
प्लक्षद्वीपप्रमाणं तु द्विगुणेन समन्ततः / संवेष्ट्येक्षुरसाम्भोधिं शाल्मलिः संव्यवस्थितः
plakṣadvīpapramāṇaṃ tu dviguṇena samantataḥ / saṃveṣṭyekṣurasāmbhodhiṃ śālmaliḥ saṃvyavasthitaḥ
Doch Śālmalī-dvīpa, ringsum von doppelter Ausdehnung gegenüber Plakṣa-dvīpa, liegt so, dass sie den Ozean umschließt, dessen Wasser dem Saft des Zuckerrohrs gleicht.
Sūta (narrator) relating the Purāṇic cosmography to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse is primarily cosmographic, mapping dvīpas and oceans; indirectly, it reflects the Purāṇic vision of an ordered cosmos that can be contemplated as a manifestation of īśvara’s sustaining power rather than a direct teaching on Ātman.
No explicit yoga practice is taught in this verse; however, Purāṇic cosmography is often used as a support for dhyāna (contemplation) on the structured universe as part of devotional and yogic reflection found elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.
The verse does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu directly; its contribution is contextual—cosmography forms the shared theological backdrop in which the Kurma Purana later presents Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis and īśvara-centered teachings.