Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 17
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
आद्यं सनत्कुमारोक्तं नारसिहमतः परम् / तृतीयं स्कान्दमुद्दिष्टं कुमारेण तु भाषितम्
ādyaṃ sanatkumāroktaṃ nārasihamataḥ param / tṛtīyaṃ skāndamuddiṣṭaṃ kumāreṇa tu bhāṣitam
第一种教诲由善达库玛罗宣说；其后为那罗辛哈之教法。第三被宣称为斯甘达之教诲，此亦由库玛罗加以阐明。
Sūta (traditional Purāṇic narrator) describing the transmission-line of teachings in the Kurma Purana’s opening section
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is not a direct Ātman-definition; it frames authority through paramparā (lineages). In the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such lineages safeguard the one Supreme Reality taught variously through Shaiva and Vaishnava doctrinal lenses.
No specific yoga technique is stated here; the verse functions as a catalog of doctrinal streams. In the Kurma Purana, these streams later support disciplined practice—especially Pāśupata-oriented devotion, mantra, and contemplative knowledge—presented as complementary paths.
Indirectly: by listing multiple authoritative ‘mata’ (views), it models a non-sectarian Purāṇic method where Shaiva and Vaishnava teachings can be transmitted side-by-side as valid expressions within a unified dharmic framework.