Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 8
Bhūrloka-Vyavasthā — The Seven Dvīpas, Seven Oceans, and the Meru-Centered Order of Jambūdvīpa
मूले षोडशसाहस्त्रो विस्तारस्तस्य सर्वतः / भूपद्मास्यास्य शैलो ऽसौ कर्णिकात्वेन संस्थितः
mūle ṣoḍaśasāhastro vistārastasya sarvataḥ / bhūpadmāsyāsya śailo 'sau karṇikātvena saṃsthitaḥ
À sa base, son étendue est de seize mille yojanas en toutes directions. Cette montagne s’y tient comme la « karnikā », le cœur central de ce lotus qu’est la Terre.
Primary narrator (Purāṇic discourse; traditionally Sūta narrating Vyāsa’s teaching to the sages)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse is primarily cosmographic, presenting the world as an ordered lotus-like structure; in Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis, such ordered design is read as reflecting an intelligent, dharma-governed cosmos upheld by Īśvara, within which the Self seeks liberation.
No direct yogic practice is taught in this line; it supports contemplative practice indirectly by offering a sacred-geography visualization (bhūpadma/earth-lotus) used for dhyāna on cosmic order and the central axis (karṇikā) as a meditative symbol.
This specific verse does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; however, within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, the structured cosmos described here is typically understood as sustained by one supreme Īśvara, approached through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava idioms.