Shloka 21
Dvīpa-Varṣa Vibhāga and the Priyavrata–Agnīdhra Lineage
Cosmic Geography and Royal Succession
ज्योतिष्मतः कुशद्वीपे सप्तैवासन् महौजसः / उद्भेदो वेणुमांश्चैवाश्वरथो लम्बनो धृतिः / षष्ठः प्रभाकारश्चापि सप्तमः कपिलः स्मृतः
jyotiṣmataḥ kuśadvīpe saptaivāsan mahaujasaḥ / udbhedo veṇumāṃścaivāśvaratho lambano dhṛtiḥ / ṣaṣṭhaḥ prabhākāraścāpi saptamaḥ kapilaḥ smṛtaḥ
కుశద్వీపంలో జ్యోతిష్మత్కు ఏడు మహాతేజస్సు, మహాబలమున్న కుమారులు ఉన్నారు—ఉద్భేద, వేణుమాంశ, అశ్వరథ, లంబన, ధృతి; ఆరవది ప్రభాకార, ఏడవది కపిల అని స్మరించబడింది.
Suta (narrator) recounting Purana-geography and dynastic lists, in the Kurma Purana narrative frame
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is primarily cosmographic and genealogical; it does not directly define Ātman. Indirectly, it supports the Purāṇic vision of an ordered cosmos (loka-saṃsthā) that later chapters relate back to the one Supreme Lord as the ground of all worlds and lineages.
No explicit Yoga practice is taught in this shloka. It belongs to the Purva-bhāga’s geographic-genealogical mapping; the Kurma Purana’s explicit soteriological material (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline and the Ishvara Gita teachings) is treated elsewhere, especially in the Upari-bhāga.
It does not directly address Śiva–Viṣṇu unity. Its contribution is contextual: by situating beings and realms within a single sacred cosmology, the Purāṇa later frames sectarian forms (Śiva and Viṣṇu) as operating within one integrated divine order.