Shloka 21
Manvantaras, Indras, Saptarṣis, and the Seven Sustaining Manifestations; Vyāsa as Nārāyaṇa
आद्याः प्रसूता भाव्याश्च पृथुगाश्च दिवौकसः / महानुभावा लेख्याश्च पञ्चैते ह्यष्टका गणाः
ādyāḥ prasūtā bhāvyāśca pṛthugāśca divaukasaḥ / mahānubhāvā lekhyāśca pañcaite hyaṣṭakā gaṇāḥ
Die Ādyas, die Prasūtas, die Bhāvyas, die Pṛthugas und die himmlischen Divaukas; ebenso die Mahānubhāvas und die Lekhyas—dies sind die hauptsächlichen Gaṇas, die zu den Aṣṭakās, den acht göttlichen Gruppen, gerechnet werden.
Sūta (narrating the Purāṇic account to the sages)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: by classifying celestial gaṇas, it frames the cosmos as an ordered hierarchy of beings—implying that even exalted devas belong to enumerated categories within creation, while the Supreme Self stands beyond such classifications.
No specific practice is taught in this verse; its contribution is cosmological—useful as a contemplative support (dhyāna) for seeing the universe as structured and governed, a backdrop for later Kurma Purana teachings on devotion, discipline, and Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā.
It does not explicitly mention Shiva or Vishnu; however, by presenting devas and gaṇas as parts of a single ordered creation, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s broader non-sectarian synthesis where divine manifestations are integrated within one cosmic order.