Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 6
Durjaya, Urvaśī, and the Expiation at Vārāṇasī
Genealogy and Sin-Removal through Viśveśvara
स कदाचिन्महाभागः कालिन्दीतीरसंस्थिताम् / अपश्यदुर्वशीं देवीं गायन्तीं मधुरस्वनाम्
sa kadācinmahābhāgaḥ kālindītīrasaṃsthitām / apaśyadurvaśīṃ devīṃ gāyantīṃ madhurasvanām
Un jour, cet être illustre aperçut la déesse Urvaśī, debout sur la rive de la Kāliṇdī (Yamunā), chantant d’une voix d’une douceur exquise.
Sūta (narrator) relating the Purāṇic account to the sages
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shringara
FAQs
This verse is primarily narrative and descriptive; it does not directly teach ātma-tattva, but it sets a scene where sensory beauty (sweet song, divine form) can later be contrasted with inner discipline and dharma-oriented insight found elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.
No explicit yoga practice is taught in this line; however, the setting at a riverbank (tīra) echoes Purāṇic tīrtha culture, where śravaṇa (listening), smaraṇa (recollection), japa, and dhyāna are traditionally undertaken—themes developed more systematically in the Kurma Purana’s later yoga-oriented passages.
This specific verse does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; it belongs to a narrative layer of the Purāṇa. The Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis is expressed more directly in its doctrinal sections (notably the Upari-bhaga’s Ishvara Gita), rather than in this descriptive scene.