Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Dvīpa-Varṣa Vibhāga and the Priyavrata–Agnīdhra Lineage
Cosmic Geography and Royal Succession
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पुर्वविभागे सप्तत्रिंशो ऽध्यायः श्रीकूर्म उवाच एवमुक्तास्तु मुनयो नैमिषीया महामतिम् / पप्रच्छुरुत्तरं सूतं पृथिव्यादिविनिर्णयम्
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ purvavibhāge saptatriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ śrīkūrma uvāca evamuktāstu munayo naimiṣīyā mahāmatim / papracchuruttaraṃ sūtaṃ pṛthivyādivinirṇayam
かくして『吉祥クールマ・プラーナ』—前分に属する六千頌のサンヒター—第37章は終わる。聖クールマは言った。「このように語られると、ナイミシャの聖仙たちは決定的な答えを求め、賢きスータに、大地および他の根本元素の正しい決定について問いかけた。」
Lord Kurma (Vishnu as Kūrma)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse functions as a narrative transition into cosmological analysis; it does not directly define Ātman, but it sets up the inquiry into elements whose ultimate ground is later treated as the Supreme principle in the Purāṇa’s integrated Shaiva–Vaiṣṇava theology.
No specific yoga practice is taught in this verse; it introduces a doctrinal section on the elements (pṛthivī-ādi), which later supports yogic contemplation by providing a framework for discerning the tattvas (principles) underlying embodied experience.
Indirectly: Lord Kūrma (a form of Viṣṇu) speaks within a Purāṇic frame that frequently harmonizes Vaiṣṇava narration with Śaiva metaphysics; here the emphasis is on authoritative inquiry and doctrinal clarification rather than sectarian contrast.