Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 5
Bhūrloka-Vyavasthā — The Seven Dvīpas, Seven Oceans, and the Meru-Centered Order of Jambūdvīpa
पञ्चाशत्कोटिविस्तीर्णा ससमुद्रा धरा स्मृता / द्वीपैश्च सप्तभिर्युक्ता योजनानां समासतः
pañcāśatkoṭivistīrṇā sasamudrā dharā smṛtā / dvīpaiśca saptabhiryuktā yojanānāṃ samāsataḥ
La Terre, avec les océans qui l’enserrent, est tenue en mémoire comme s’étendant sur cinquante crores (de yojanas) en largeur. Et, en bref, elle est décrite comme pourvue des sept dvīpas, mesurés en yojanas.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the sages (cosmographic exposition)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it establishes the ordered cosmic field (loka-vyavasthā) within which dharma and spiritual inquiry unfold, a common Purāṇic preface to later metaphysical teaching.
No specific yoga technique is taught in this verse; it provides cosmographic orientation. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmology frames disciplines like Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā and devotion by situating the practitioner within a divinely ordered universe.
The verse is descriptive rather than sectarian; by presenting a shared cosmology spoken in a Purāṇic teaching voice, it supports the Kurma Purana’s general tendency toward a unified sacred order that later accommodates both Shaiva and Vaishnava theological emphases.