Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 123
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
पृष्टः प्रोवाच सकलं पुराणं कौर्ममुत्तमम् / सन्निधौ देवराजस्य तद् वक्ष्ये भवतामहम्
pṛṣṭaḥ provāca sakalaṃ purāṇaṃ kaurmamuttamam / sannidhau devarājasya tad vakṣye bhavatāmaham
Interrogé, il exposa intégralement l’excellent Kūrma Purāṇa en présence du roi des dieux ; c’est ce même récit que je vais maintenant vous rapporter.
Suta (the narrator transmitting the Purana to the assembled sages)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is primarily a transmission formula: it establishes authoritative recitation (śruti-like continuity) rather than defining Ātman directly; its implication is that liberating knowledge is received through a sanctified lineage of questioning and teaching.
No specific practice is taught in this line; it functions as a prologue indicating that the forthcoming Kurma Purana discourse will be delivered in full—within which disciplines like Pāśupata-oriented devotion, dharma, and yogic restraint are later detailed.
Indirectly: by presenting the Kurma Purana as an ‘excellent’ complete teaching handed down in a divine setting, it frames the text as a harmonizing authority where later sections integrate Śaiva (Pāśupata) and Vaiṣṇava (Kurma/Nārāyaṇa) perspectives without contradiction.