Shloka 1
Manvantaras, Indras, Saptarṣis, and the Seven Sustaining Manifestations; Vyāsa as Nārāyaṇa
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे अष्टचत्वारिंशो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः अतीतानागतानीह यानि मन्वन्तराणि तु / तानि त्वं कथयास्माकं व्यासांश्च द्वापरे युगे
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge aṣṭacatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ atītānāgatānīha yāni manvantarāṇi tu / tāni tvaṃ kathayāsmākaṃ vyāsāṃśca dvāpare yuge
如是，在《圣龟摩往世书》六千颂本集（Saṃhitā）之前分（Pūrva-bhāga）中，第四十八章开启。诸仙人说道：“请为我们宣说已逝与未来的诸摩奴时代（Manvantara），并讲述在二婆罗纪（Dvāpara-yuga）中毗耶娑（Vyāsa）的诸显现。”
The sages (Ṛṣayaḥ)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is a framing inquiry, not a direct Atman-teaching: it sets up a cosmological narration (Manvantaras and Vyāsa-forms) that later supports Purāṇic dharma and God-centered realization rather than offering an explicit Atman definition here.
No specific Yoga practice is taught in this verse; it introduces a request for sacred history and cosmic cycles, which in the Kurma Purāṇa serves as background for later instruction on dharma, devotion, and (in other sections) Pāśupata-oriented discipline.
Indirectly: by invoking Purāṇic authority and the Vyāsa tradition within cosmic time, it prepares the narrative space where the Kurma Purāṇa harmonizes sectarian streams; this particular verse itself does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu.