Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 29
Sapta-dvīpa Cosmography and the Vision of Śvetadvīpa–Vaikuṇṭha
पुष्कराः पुष्कला धन्यास्तिष्यास्तस्य क्रमेण वै / ब्राह्मणाः क्षत्रिया वैश्याः शूद्राश्चैव द्विजोत्तमाः
puṣkarāḥ puṣkalā dhanyāstiṣyāstasya krameṇa vai / brāhmaṇāḥ kṣatriyā vaiśyāḥ śūdrāścaiva dvijottamāḥ
Puṣkara, Puṣkala, Dhanya, dan Tiṣya—mereka muncul dalam urutannya, seturut ketetapan. Wahai yang utama di antara dwija, darinya lahir Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, dan juga Śūdra.
Narrator tradition (Purāṇic narrator addressing a dvija—commonly Sūta/Vyāsa framework)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
This verse is primarily genealogical and social in focus, describing succession and the four varṇas; it does not directly teach an Ātman doctrine, but it presupposes a dharmic cosmos where social orders arise within an ordered creation.
No specific yoga practice is taught in this śloka. Its contribution is contextual: it grounds spiritual life in varṇāśrama-dharma, within which disciplines like japa, vrata, and yoga are traditionally undertaken in later teachings of the Purāṇa.
It does not explicitly address Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; it functions as a lineage/varna enumeration. In the Kurma Purāṇa’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such dharma-structures are presented as upheld by the same supreme governance, even when different deities are emphasized elsewhere.