Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 1
Prākṛta-pralaya, Pratisarga Doctrine, and the Ishvara-Samanvaya of Yoga and Devotion
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे त्रिचत्वारिंशो ऽध्यायः कूर्म उवाच अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि प्रतिसर्गमनुत्तमम् / प्राकृतं हि समासेन शृणुध्वं गदतो मम
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge tricatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ kūrma uvāca ataḥ paraṃ pravakṣyāmi pratisargamanuttamam / prākṛtaṃ hi samāsena śṛṇudhvaṃ gadato mama
ಇಂತೆ ಶ್ರೀಕೂರ್ಮಪುರಾಣದ ಷಟ್ಸಾಹಸ್ತ್ರೀ ಸಂಹಿತೆಯ ಉತ್ತರ ವಿಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ತ್ರಿಚತ್ವಾರಿಂಶ ಅಧ್ಯಾಯ. ಕೂರ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಇನ್ನು ಮುಂದೆ ಪ್ರತಿಸರ್ಗ, ಅಂದರೆ ದ್ವಿತೀಯ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯ ಅನುತ್ತಮ ತತ್ತ್ವವನ್ನು, ಪ್ರಾಕೃತ ಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ಸಂಕ್ಷೇಪವಾಗಿ ವಿವರಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ; ನನ್ನ ವಚನವನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿರಿ.
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu as the Tortoise incarnation)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: by introducing pratisarga as a “prākṛta” (Prakṛti-based) process, it implies that the Supreme principle is distinct from material nature and can authoritatively describe its re-manifestation; the Self is thus not reduced to matter or its transformations.
No specific practice is taught in this verse; it functions as a transition into cosmological teaching. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Upari-bhaga framework, such knowledge supports Yoga by clarifying Prakṛti’s evolutes, aiding dispassion (vairāgya) and discernment (viveka) central to liberation-oriented discipline.
While Shiva is not named here, the verse reflects the Purana’s integrative method: Vishnu as Lord Kūrma teaches a cosmology often articulated in shared Sāṃkhya-Yoga terms used across Shaiva and Vaishnava traditions, preparing a non-sectarian metaphysical ground for later syntheses.