Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 4
Measure of the Three Worlds, Planetary Spheres, and Sūrya as the Root of Trailokya
यावत्प्रमाणो भूर्लोको विस्तरात् परिमण्डलात् / भुवर्लोको ऽपि तावान्स्यान्मण्डलाद् भास्करस्य तु
yāvatpramāṇo bhūrloko vistarāt parimaṇḍalāt / bhuvarloko 'pi tāvānsyānmaṇḍalād bhāskarasya tu
Kung gaano kalawak ang Bhūrloka sa lapad bilang isang bilog na kalawakan, gayon din kalawak ang Bhuvarloka—sinusukat ayon sa maṇḍala, ang orb ng Araw.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing in puranic cosmography
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse is primarily cosmographical, mapping the relative extent of Bhūrloka and Bhuvarloka; indirectly, it supports the Purāṇic view that the ordered cosmos operates by intelligible measures within Īśvara’s governance rather than random chance.
No direct yogic technique is taught in this line; however, Kurma Purana’s broader teaching uses such cosmic mapping to steady the mind (citta-sthairya) through contemplation of cosmic order (viśva-krama), a supportive practice for dhyāna and īśvara-smṛti.
The verse itself does not mention Śiva-Viṣṇu explicitly; within the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such cosmology is presented as a single sacred order upheld by the one Īśvara, honored in both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava idioms across the text.