Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 9
Bāṇa’s Śiva-bhakti and the Genealogy of Kaśyapa’s Descendants
Manvantara Lineages
सुरसायाः सहस्त्रं तु सर्पाणामभवद् द्विजाः / अनेकशिरसां तद्वत् खेचराणां महात्मनाम्
surasāyāḥ sahastraṃ tu sarpāṇāmabhavad dvijāḥ / anekaśirasāṃ tadvat khecarāṇāṃ mahātmanām
Ô sages deux fois nés, de Surasā naquirent mille serpents ; et de même, elle enfanta des êtres aériens magnanimes, pourvus de nombreuses têtes.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator continuing the lineage account to the sages)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
This verse is primarily cosmological and genealogical, describing manifested beings (nāgas and khecaras) rather than directly teaching Ātman; it supports the Purāṇic view that diverse life-forms arise within prakṛti under cosmic order (ṛta/dharma).
No explicit yoga practice is taught in this verse; it functions as background cosmology. In the Kurma Purana’s broader frame, such accounts contextualize later disciplines (including Pāśupata-oriented devotion and restraint) by mapping the ordered universe in which sādhana is undertaken.
It does not directly address Shiva–Vishnu unity; it contributes to the shared Purāṇic cosmology that both Shaiva and Vaishnava sections employ, preparing the reader for later synthetic teachings where the same supreme reality is praised through multiple divine forms.