Commencement of the Upari-bhāga: The Sages Request Brahma-vidyā; Vyāsa Recalls the Badarikā Inquiry and Śiva–Viṣṇu Theophany
तं दृष्ट्वा वेदविद्वांसं कालमेघसमद्युतिम् / व्यासं कमलपत्राक्षं प्रणेमुर्द्विजपुङ्गवाः
taṃ dṛṣṭvā vedavidvāṃsaṃ kālameghasamadyutim / vyāsaṃ kamalapatrākṣaṃ praṇemurdvijapuṅgavāḥ
Melihat Vyāsa—yang mahir dalam Veda, bercahaya laksana awan hujan yang gelap, bermata bak kelopak teratai—para dwija yang terunggul pun menunduk bersujud penuh hormat kepadanya.
Narrator (Sūta or Purāṇic narrator in the frame narrative)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Indirectly, it establishes the traditional means of approaching truth: reverence to the Veda-knower (Vyāsa) through whom teachings about Ātman and Īśvara are transmitted in the Purāṇic lineage.
No specific technique is taught in this verse; it highlights the prerequisite discipline of humility and guru-veneration (praṇāma), which Kurma Purana later treats as foundational for dharma and yogic instruction (including Pāśupata-oriented practice).
The verse does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; it frames Vyāsa as the authoritative transmitter of Purāṇic wisdom, within which the Kurma Purana later presents a harmonizing (non-sectarian) synthesis of Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava teachings.