Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 12
Time-Reckoning (Kāla-gaṇanā): Yugas, Manvantaras, Kalpas, and Prākṛta Pralaya
ब्रह्मणो दिवसे विप्रा मनवः स्युश्चतुर्दश / स्वायंभुवादयः सर्वे ततः सावर्णिकादयः
brahmaṇo divase viprā manavaḥ syuścaturdaśa / svāyaṃbhuvādayaḥ sarve tataḥ sāvarṇikādayaḥ
Ô brāhmanes, en un seul jour de Brahmā il y a quatorze Manus. Tous sont dénombrés en commençant par Svāyambhuva, puis en poursuivant avec ceux qui commencent par Sāvarṇi.
Narrator (Purāṇic discourse to the sages/brāhmaṇas; traditional frame often via Sūta/Vyāsa lineage)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames cosmic time (Brahmā’s day and the manvantaras) as an ordered manifestation; later Kurma Purana teachings place the unchanging Self beyond these cycles, while dharma operates within them.
No specific practice is taught in this verse; it establishes the cosmological timetable (manvantaras) that underlies dharma and discipline. In the Kurma Purana’s broader arc, such order supports later yoga-instructions (including Pāśupata-oriented restraint and devotion).
It does not explicitly mention Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; it provides shared cosmological ground (Brahmā’s day and Manus) that the Purāṇa later integrates with its Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis.