Commencement of the Upari-bhāga: The Sages Request Brahma-vidyā; Vyāsa Recalls the Badarikā Inquiry and Śiva–Viṣṇu Theophany
अथास्मिन्नन्तरे व्यासः कृष्णद्वैपायनः स्वयम् / आजगाम मुनिश्रेष्ठा यत्र सत्रं समासते
athāsminnantare vyāsaḥ kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaḥ svayam / ājagāma muniśreṣṭhā yatra satraṃ samāsate
ในกาลนั้นเอง วยาสะผู้เป็นกฤษณทไวปายนะโดยแท้ เสด็จมาถึง ณ ที่ซึ่งเหล่าฤๅษีประชุมประกอบสัตรยัญอันยืนนาน โอ้มุนีผู้ประเสริฐทั้งหลาย
Sūta (narrator) addressing the assembled sages
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it establishes the authoritative transmission line—Vyāsa entering the sacrificial assembly—through which later teachings on Ātman, Īśvara, and liberation are delivered in the Kurma Purana.
No specific yoga practice is stated here; the verse frames a satra setting where disciplined ritual and attentive listening (śravaṇa) prepare the ground for later Kurma Purana instructions, including Pāśupata-oriented devotion and yogic discipline.
Implicitly, it supports the Purana’s integrative approach: Vyāsa’s arrival to teach in a Vedic-sacrificial context sets up later sections where Hari (Vishnu/Kūrma) and Śiva-oriented (Pāśupata) teachings are presented as compatible paths within one dharmic revelation.