Shloka 1
Prākṛta-pralaya, Pratisarga Doctrine, and the Ishvara-Samanvaya of Yoga and Devotion
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे त्रिचत्वारिंशो ऽध्यायः कूर्म उवाच अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि प्रतिसर्गमनुत्तमम् / प्राकृतं हि समासेन शृणुध्वं गदतो मम
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge tricatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ kūrma uvāca ataḥ paraṃ pravakṣyāmi pratisargamanuttamam / prākṛtaṃ hi samāsena śṛṇudhvaṃ gadato mama
ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਕੂਰਮ ਪੁਰਾਣ ਦੀ ਛਟਸਾਹਸਤ੍ਰੀ ਸੰਹਿਤਾ ਦੇ ਉੱਤਰ-ਵਿਭਾਗ ਵਿੱਚ ਤ੍ਰਿਚਤ੍ਵਾਰਿੰਸ਼ ਅਧਿਆਇ। ਕੂਰਮ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਹੁਣ ਅੱਗੇ ਮੈਂ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਸਰਗ, ਅਰਥਾਤ ਦੂਜੀ ਸ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟੀ ਦਾ ਅਨੁੱਤਮ ਤੱਤ, ਪ੍ਰਾਕ੍ਰਿਤ ਪ੍ਰਕਿਰਿਆ ਸੰਖੇਪ ਵਿੱਚ ਬਿਆਨ ਕਰਾਂਗਾ; ਮੇਰੇ ਬਚਨ ਸੁਣੋ।
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu as the Tortoise incarnation)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: by introducing pratisarga as a “prākṛta” (Prakṛti-based) process, it implies that the Supreme principle is distinct from material nature and can authoritatively describe its re-manifestation; the Self is thus not reduced to matter or its transformations.
No specific practice is taught in this verse; it functions as a transition into cosmological teaching. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Upari-bhaga framework, such knowledge supports Yoga by clarifying Prakṛti’s evolutes, aiding dispassion (vairāgya) and discernment (viveka) central to liberation-oriented discipline.
While Shiva is not named here, the verse reflects the Purana’s integrative method: Vishnu as Lord Kūrma teaches a cosmology often articulated in shared Sāṃkhya-Yoga terms used across Shaiva and Vaishnava traditions, preparing a non-sectarian metaphysical ground for later syntheses.