Shloka 1
Manvantaras, Indras, Saptarṣis, and the Seven Sustaining Manifestations; Vyāsa as Nārāyaṇa
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे अष्टचत्वारिंशो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः अतीतानागतानीह यानि मन्वन्तराणि तु / तानि त्वं कथयास्माकं व्यासांश्च द्वापरे युगे
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge aṣṭacatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ atītānāgatānīha yāni manvantarāṇi tu / tāni tvaṃ kathayāsmākaṃ vyāsāṃśca dvāpare yuge
ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਕੂਰਮ ਪੁਰਾਣ ਦੀ ਛਟਸਾਹਸਤ੍ਰੀ ਸੰਹਿਤਾ ਦੇ ਪੂਰਵ-ਭਾਗ ਵਿੱਚ ਅੱਠਚਤਵਾਰਿੰਸ਼ ਅਧਿਆਇ ਆਰੰਭ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਰਿਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਜੋ ਮਨਵੰਤਰ ਬੀਤ ਗਏ ਅਤੇ ਜੋ ਆਉਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਹਨ, ਅਤੇ ਦ੍ਵਾਪਰ ਯੁਗ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਿਆਸ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਾਕਟ੍ਯ, ਸਾਨੂੰ ਦੱਸੋ।
The sages (Ṛṣayaḥ)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is a framing inquiry, not a direct Atman-teaching: it sets up a cosmological narration (Manvantaras and Vyāsa-forms) that later supports Purāṇic dharma and God-centered realization rather than offering an explicit Atman definition here.
No specific Yoga practice is taught in this verse; it introduces a request for sacred history and cosmic cycles, which in the Kurma Purāṇa serves as background for later instruction on dharma, devotion, and (in other sections) Pāśupata-oriented discipline.
Indirectly: by invoking Purāṇic authority and the Vyāsa tradition within cosmic time, it prepares the narrative space where the Kurma Purāṇa harmonizes sectarian streams; this particular verse itself does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu.