Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Jambūdvīpa Varṣas, Bhārata as Karmabhūmi, and the Sacred Hydro-Topography of Dharma
इती श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे चतुश्चत्वारिंशो ऽध्यायः सूत उवाच केतुमाले नराः कालाः सर्वे पनसभोजनाः / स्त्रियश्चोत्पलपत्राभा जीवन्ति च वर्षायुतम्
itī śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge catuścatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ sūta uvāca ketumāle narāḥ kālāḥ sarve panasabhojanāḥ / striyaścotpalapatrābhā jīvanti ca varṣāyutam
Ainsi, dans le Śrī Kūrma Purāṇa, dans la Saṃhitā de six mille śloka, dans la section antérieure, s’achève le quarante-quatrième chapitre. Sūta dit : «À Ketumāla, les hommes sont de teint sombre et tous se nourrissent de jacquier. Les femmes aussi, belles comme des pétales de lotus, vivent dix mille ans.»
Sūta
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse does not directly teach Ātman-doctrine; it functions as a cosmographical note describing Ketumāla’s inhabitants, their diet, appearance, and extraordinary longevity within Purāṇic world-geography.
No explicit yoga practice is stated here. The verse belongs to the Purva-bhāga’s descriptive cosmology; for yoga teachings (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline and theistic contemplation), the Kurma Purāṇa develops them more directly in later doctrinal sections (notably the Upari-bhāga/Iśvara-gītā context).
It does not address Śiva–Viṣṇu unity directly; it is a regional description. The Kurma Purāṇa’s Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis is thematic across the work, but this particular śloka is primarily geographical and ethnographic.