Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Sapta-dvīpa Cosmography and the Vision of Śvetadvīpa–Vaikuṇṭha
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे षट्चत्वारिशो ऽध्यायः सूत उवाच जम्बूद्वीपस्य विस्ताराद् द्विगुणेन समन्ततः / संवेष्टयित्वा क्षारोदं प्लक्षद्वीपो व्यवस्थितः
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge ṣaṭcatvāriśo 'dhyāyaḥ sūta uvāca jambūdvīpasya vistārād dviguṇena samantataḥ / saṃveṣṭayitvā kṣārodaṃ plakṣadvīpo vyavasthitaḥ
ਸੂਤ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਜੰਬੂਦਵੀਪ ਨੂੰ ਹਰ ਪਾਸੇ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਵਿਸਤਾਰ ਤੋਂ ਦੋ ਗੁਣਾ ਚੌੜਾਈ ਨਾਲ ਘੇਰ ਕੇ, ਖ਼ਾਰੋਦ (ਲੂਣੇ ਜਲ) ਸਮੁੰਦਰ ਨੂੰ ਵਲ੍ਹ ਕੇ ਪਲਕਸ਼ਦਵੀਪ ਸਥਿਤ ਹੈ।
Suta
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse is primarily cosmographical, mapping the dvīpa–ocean arrangement; implicitly, such ordered description reflects a Purāṇic vision of an intelligible, law-governed cosmos sustained by Īśvara, but it does not directly define Ātman.
No specific yoga practice is taught in this verse; it belongs to the Purva-bhāga’s geographic/cosmic narration rather than the Upari-bhāga’s explicit yoga and īśvara-teachings (often associated with themes like Pāśupata Yoga).
It does not explicitly discuss Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; it presents Sūta’s neutral cosmography. The Kurma Purāṇa’s broader synthesis frames cosmological order as ultimately grounded in the one supreme Lord revered through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava idioms.