Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 23
Puṣkara-dvīpa, Lokāloka, and the Measure of the Brahmāṇḍa
Cosmic Egg
तथा तमसि सत्त्वे च एष एव महाद्युतिः / अनेकधा विभक्ताङ्गः क्रीडते पुरुषोत्तमः
tathā tamasi sattve ca eṣa eva mahādyutiḥ / anekadhā vibhaktāṅgaḥ krīḍate puruṣottamaḥ
Ebenso erscheint in Tamas wie in Sattva eben dieser Eine—von großem Glanz. Indem Er Seine Glieder auf vielerlei Weise teilt, spielt der Puruṣottama (der Höchste Mensch) sein Līlā, und der Kosmos tritt als Sein Spiel hervor.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching Indradyumna (contextual Purva-bhaga dialogue style)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as one luminous Reality that remains the same, yet appears within different guṇic conditions (sattva and tamas). Multiplicity is shown as His manifested “limbs,” while the underlying Self is the single Puruṣottama.
The implied practice is guṇa-viveka (discernment of the guṇas): the yogin observes sattva and tamas as modes of prakṛti and meditatively turns toward the one radiant Lord beyond them—supporting the Kurma Purana’s Yoga-shastra emphasis on transcending guṇas rather than being bound by them.
By describing a single Supreme Person who manifests many forms and powers, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: the highest Lord can be understood in Shaiva or Vaishnava idiom without contradiction, since the many divine aspects are expressions of one Reality.