Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 12
Kṛṣṇa’s Departure, Kali-yuga Dharma, and the Prohibition of Śiva-Nindā
Hari–Hara Samanvaya
ये ब्राह्मणा वंशजाता युष्माकं वै सहस्त्रशः / तेषां नारायणे भक्तिर्भविष्यति कलौ युगे
ye brāhmaṇā vaṃśajātā yuṣmākaṃ vai sahastraśaḥ / teṣāṃ nārāyaṇe bhaktirbhaviṣyati kalau yuge
Parmi les brāhmaṇas nés de votre lignée — en vérité, par milliers — naîtra, en l’âge de Kali, la dévotion envers Nārāyaṇa.
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) speaking as a prophetic teacher within the Purāṇic dialogue
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents Nārāyaṇa as the supreme refuge and focus of devotion in Kali-yuga, implying that turning the mind toward the Supreme (identified here as Nārāyaṇa) becomes a primary spiritual means when other disciplines decline.
The verse emphasizes bhakti-yoga—steady devotion and inner orientation to Nārāyaṇa—as the accessible Kali-yuga discipline, aligning with Purāṇic guidance that devotion can function as an effective yogic path when austerities and ritual exactitude weaken.
While naming Nārāyaṇa explicitly, the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis frames such devotion as compatible with the one Supreme reality revered through multiple divine forms, rather than as sectarian exclusion.