Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 25
Jambūdvīpa Varṣas, Bhārata as Karmabhūmi, and the Sacred Hydro-Topography of Dharma
पूर्वे किरातास्तस्यान्ते पशिचमे यवनास्तथा / ब्राह्मणाः क्षत्रिया वैश्य मध्ये शूद्रास्तथैव च
pūrve kirātāstasyānte paśicame yavanāstathā / brāhmaṇāḥ kṣatriyā vaiśya madhye śūdrāstathaiva ca
Di timurnya tinggal kaum Kirāta, dan di ujung baratnya kaum Yavana. Di bagian tengah bermukim Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, dan juga Śūdra.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing in a dharmic-geographical description
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly teach Ātman-metaphysics; it frames the dharmic world as ordered by regions and varṇas, a social-cosmic backdrop upon which liberation teachings (yoga, jñāna, devotion) are later grounded.
No specific yogic technique is stated here; the verse supports Yoga-śāstra indirectly by establishing varṇāśrama-based duties (svadharma), which the Kurma Purana treats as a stabilizing foundation for sādhana such as Pāśupata-oriented discipline and devotion.
The verse is primarily socio-geographical and does not explicitly mention Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; in the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis, such dharma-order is presented as upheld by the same supreme lordly principle revered through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava idioms.