Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 43
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
पूर्वजन्मनि राजासावधृष्यः शङ्करादिभिः / दृष्ट्वा मां कूर्मसंस्थानं श्रुत्वा पौराणिकीं स्वयम् / संहितां मन्मुखाद् दिव्यां पुरस्कृत्य मुनीश्वरान्
pūrvajanmani rājāsāvadhṛṣyaḥ śaṅkarādibhiḥ / dṛṣṭvā māṃ kūrmasaṃsthānaṃ śrutvā paurāṇikīṃ svayam / saṃhitāṃ manmukhād divyāṃ puraskṛtya munīśvarān
പൂർവ്വജന്മത്തിൽ ആ രാജാവ് ശങ്കരാദി ദേവന്മാർക്കും അജേയനായിരുന്നു. അവൻ എന്നെ കൂർമരൂപത്തിൽ ദർശിച്ചു, എന്റെ മുഖത്തിൽ നിന്നു ദിവ്യമായ പൗരാണിക സംഹിത സ്വയം ശ്രവിച്ചു; പിന്നെ മുനീശ്വരന്മാരെ ആദരിച്ചു മുൻസ്ഥാനത്ത് സ്ഥാപിച്ചു.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) narrating to the sages
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
By presenting the teaching as a “divine saṃhitā” spoken directly from the Lord’s mouth, the verse emphasizes revelation as a direct manifestation of the Supreme—where the Lord’s form (Kurma) and the Lord’s word (Purāṇic teaching) function as a single, authoritative disclosure of the highest reality.
This verse does not list techniques, but it frames the foundational discipline for Yoga in the Kurma Purana: śravaṇa (reverent hearing) of an authorized teaching and sevā/veneration of realized sages—both prerequisites repeatedly assumed in the Purāṇic path that later supports Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā and Ishvara-centered contemplation.
By stating the king was “invincible even to Śaṅkara and the others” while also receiving the divine teaching from the Kurma-form of Vishnu, the verse places Śiva and Vishnu within a shared sacral universe—supporting the Kurma Purana’s characteristic synthesis where divine authority is not framed as sectarian rivalry but as mutually affirmed supremacy.