Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 62
Sapta-dvīpa Cosmography and the Vision of Śvetadvīpa–Vaikuṇṭha
स्थानं पद् वैष्णवं दिव्यं योगिनामपि दुर्लभम् / तन्मध्ये भगवानेकः पुण्डरीकदलद्युतिः / शेते ऽशेषजगत्सूतिः शेषाहिशयने हरिः
sthānaṃ pad vaiṣṇavaṃ divyaṃ yogināmapi durlabham / tanmadhye bhagavānekaḥ puṇḍarīkadaladyutiḥ / śete 'śeṣajagatsūtiḥ śeṣāhiśayane hariḥ
There is a divine Vaiṣṇava station (Vaikuṇṭha), difficult to attain even for yogins. In its very midst lies the One Blessed Lord, radiant like a lotus petal. Hari, the source from whom the entire universe is brought forth, reposes upon the serpent-bed of Śeṣa.
Narrator (Purāṇic discourse tradition; describing the supreme abode of Hari within the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga narrative frame)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By calling Bhagavān “ekaḥ” (the One) and the source of all worlds, the verse presents the Supreme as singular, self-sufficient, and causally prior to creation—language often used in Purāṇas to indicate the highest reality that yogins seek.
The verse emphasizes the yogic ideal of attaining the “divine Vaiṣṇava abode,” implying advanced yoga—steadfast meditation (dhyāna) and absorption (samādhi) directed to the supreme Lord—since even accomplished yogins find this state difficult to reach.
While explicitly Vaiṣṇava in imagery (Hari on Śeṣa), its philosophical stress on the One supreme source aligns with the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis, where sectarian forms point toward a single highest reality approached through yoga and devotion.