Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
अन्यान्युपराणानि मुनिभिः कथितानि तु / अष्टादशपुराणानि श्रुत्वा संक्षेपतो द्विजाः
anyānyuparāṇāni munibhiḥ kathitāni tu / aṣṭādaśapurāṇāni śrutvā saṃkṣepato dvijāḥ
इतर उपपुराणेही मुनिंनी कथिली आहेत. हे द्विजांनो, अठरा महापुराणे संक्षेपाने ऐकून तुम्ही येथे उपदेश्य तात्पर्य जाणू इच्छिता.
Sūta (traditional Purāṇic narrator) addressing the assembled dvijas (sages/Brāhmaṇas)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it frames the scriptural setting—after hearing the Purāṇic corpus in brief, seekers are prepared to receive the deeper purport that later culminates in teachings aligned with Īśvara-centered realization.
No specific Yoga practice is stated here; the implied discipline is śravaṇa (reverent hearing) of Purāṇic teaching, which in the Kurma Purana becomes the foundation for later instructions on devotion, dharma, and Pāśupata-oriented contemplation.
It does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu explicitly; it establishes the Purāṇic framework in which the Kurma Purana later presents a Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis through Īśvara-centered teachings and shared dharmic authority.