Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 26
Incarnations of Mahādeva in Kali-yuga (Vaivasvata Manvantara) and the Nakulīśa Horizon
अक्षपादः कुमारश्च उलूको वत्स एव च / कुशिकश्चैव गर्गश्च मित्रको ऋष्य एव च
akṣapādaḥ kumāraśca ulūko vatsa eva ca / kuśikaścaiva gargaśca mitrako ṛṣya eva ca
Akṣapāda, Kumāra, Ulūka et Vatsa ; de même Kuśika et Garga, ainsi que Mitraka et Ṛṣya — tels sont les ṛṣi qui sont nommés.
Sūta (narrator) recounting Purāṇic lineage material
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is primarily a catalog of ṛṣis (sages) within a lineage/pravara context; it does not directly teach ātman-doctrine, but it supports the Purāṇic framework in which spiritual knowledge is transmitted through recognized seer-traditions.
No specific yoga practice is taught in this verse; its function is to preserve the authoritative chain of sages through whom dharma and later yoga-śāstra teachings (including Pāśupata-oriented material elsewhere in the Kūrma Purāṇa) are understood as being handed down.
It does not explicitly discuss Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; instead, it establishes a traditional sage-list backdrop within which the Kūrma Purāṇa later presents its Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis and Pāśupata-leaning instruction.