Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16
Incarnations of Mahādeva in Kali-yuga (Vaivasvata Manvantara) and the Nakulīśa Horizon
सारस्वतस्तथा मेघो घनवाहः सुवाहनः / कपिलश्चासुरिश्चैव वोढुः पञ्चशिखो मुनिः
sārasvatastathā megho ghanavāhaḥ suvāhanaḥ / kapilaścāsuriścaiva voḍhuḥ pañcaśikho muniḥ
De même se trouvaient Sārasvata, Megha, Ghanavāha et Suvāhana ; ainsi que Kapila et Āsuri ; avec Voḍhu et le sage muni Pañcaśikha.
Sūta (traditional Purāṇic narrator) recounting the list of sages in the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga context
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it functions as a paramparā-style catalog of sages, implicitly grounding later metaphysical teaching (Sāṅkhya/Yoga and Purāṇic theism) in respected teacher lineages.
No specific practice is taught in this line; however, by naming Kapila, Āsuri, and Pañcaśikha, it signals the Sāṅkhya–Yoga intellectual background that the Kurma Purana later harmonizes with devotion and Pāśupata-oriented discipline.
The verse itself is non-sectarian and genealogical; in the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such sage-lists support a shared sacred transmission that culminates in teachings where Hari and Hara are presented as mutually inclusive manifestations of the one Supreme.