Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 25
Jambūdvīpa Varṣas, Bhārata as Karmabhūmi, and the Sacred Hydro-Topography of Dharma
पूर्वे किरातास्तस्यान्ते पशिचमे यवनास्तथा / ब्राह्मणाः क्षत्रिया वैश्य मध्ये शूद्रास्तथैव च
pūrve kirātāstasyānte paśicame yavanāstathā / brāhmaṇāḥ kṣatriyā vaiśya madhye śūdrāstathaiva ca
దాని తూర్పున కిరాతులు, పశ్చిమ అంచున యవనులు ఉంటారు. మధ్యలో బ్రాహ్మణులు, క్షత్రియులు, వైశ్యులు, అలాగే శూద్రులు కూడా నివసిస్తారు.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing in a dharmic-geographical description
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly teach Ātman-metaphysics; it frames the dharmic world as ordered by regions and varṇas, a social-cosmic backdrop upon which liberation teachings (yoga, jñāna, devotion) are later grounded.
No specific yogic technique is stated here; the verse supports Yoga-śāstra indirectly by establishing varṇāśrama-based duties (svadharma), which the Kurma Purana treats as a stabilizing foundation for sādhana such as Pāśupata-oriented discipline and devotion.
The verse is primarily socio-geographical and does not explicitly mention Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; in the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis, such dharma-order is presented as upheld by the same supreme lordly principle revered through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava idioms.