Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Yuga-Dharma: The Four Ages, Decline of Dharma, and the Rise of Social Order
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे षड्विंशो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः कृतं त्रेता द्वापरं च कलिश्चेति चतुर्युगम् / एषां स्वभावं सूताद्य कथयस्व समासतः
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge ṣaḍviṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ kṛtaṃ tretā dvāparaṃ ca kaliśceti caturyugam / eṣāṃ svabhāvaṃ sūtādya kathayasva samāsataḥ
Ainsi, dans le Śrī Kūrma Purāṇa, dans la Saṃhitā Ṣaṭsāhasrī, dans la section Pūrva-bhāga—(commence) le chapitre. Les ṛṣi dirent : «Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara et Kali—tels sont les quatre yuga (caturyuga). Ô Sūta, expose-nous brièvement la nature propre de chacun.»
The sages (Ṛṣis), addressing Sūta
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it frames a doctrinal inquiry into time (caturyuga) and dharma across ages—an essential Purāṇic context in which liberation-teachings (including knowledge of Self) are later presented.
No specific yoga practice is taught in this verse; it introduces a request for a concise account of yuga-characteristics, which typically determines which sādhana (discipline)—ritual, devotion, austerity, or contemplative yoga—is emphasized in each age in the broader Purāṇic teaching.
This verse is a narrative prompt rather than a theological statement; it sets up instruction by Sūta on cosmic time and dharma, within the Kurma Purana’s wider framework that often harmonizes Shaiva and Vaishnava teachings through shared dharma and soteriology.