The Kurma Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas and a Vaishnavism book from the mediaeval era. The text is called after Vishnu's tortoise avatar.
The Kurma Purana (IAST: KrmaPura) is a Hindu book from the mediaeval era that is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. The text is called after Vishnu's tortoise avatar. Many variants of the Kurma Purana manuscripts have survived until the present day.
The core of the text may have been written around the beginning of
the eighth century CE, and then updated throughout the years.
Like other Puranas, the Kurma Purana has a convoluted chronology.
According to Dimmitt and van Buitenen, each Purana is written in an
encyclopaedic style, making it impossible to determine when, when, why, and by
whom they were written:
The Puranas are a layered literature in their current form. Each named piece is made up of material that has accumulated through time as a result of various accretions. As a result, there is no fixed date for the writing of any Purana. (...) It's as if they're libraries, with new volumes being added all the time, not just at the end.
The Kurma Purana (IAST: KrmaPura) is a Hindu book from the mediaeval period that is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. Vishnu's tortoise incarnation inspired the title of the work. Kurma Purana manuscripts have survived in a variety of forms until the present age.
There are numerous versions of the Kurma Purana, but they always
have two parts: the Purva-vibhaga (older portion) and the Upari-vibhaga (newer
part) (upper part). The number of chapters in a document varies. In
Purva-vibhaga, there are 51 chapters and in Upari-vibhaga, there are 44
chapters in the critical edition.
Kurma Purana is classified as a Tamas Purana by the Padma Purana. Scholars believe the Sattva-Rajas-Tamas categorization to be "completely fictitious," and nothing in the text really supports this classification.
The 18 Maha Puranas
Agni Puran
Bhagavata Mahapuran
Brahma Mahapuran
BrahmandaPuran
BrahmavaivartaPuran
Garuda Puran
KurmaPuran
Linga Puran
MatsyaPuran
MarkandeyaPuran
NaradeeyaPuran
Padma Puran
Shiva Puran
Skanda Puran
Vamana Puran
VarahaPuran
Vayu Puran
Vishnu Puran
According to Rocher, Kurma is the most
fascinating religion-themed Purana because, while being named after one of
Vishnu's avatars, it features a mix of Vishnu and Shiva-related stories,
mythology, Tirtha (pilgrimage), and theology. The stories are comparable to
those found in other Puranas, although neither Vishnu nor Shiva have a strong
presence in the book. The text is a tour guide to mediaeval Varanasi (also
known as the holy city of Banaras or Kashi), but it focuses primarily on Shaiva
sites, whereas elsewhere in the Pancharatra stories, Vishnu is prominent, but
Sri is the Supreme Shakti, who is the energy and power of all gods, including
Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma.
The Kurma Purana, like other Puranas, is a
Hindu religious text. It's called Ishvaragita, and it's made up of eleven
chapters that are a version of the Bhagavad Gita with Shiva as the narrator.
The Uttaravibhga has these eleven chapters.
The Upanishads such as the Katha Upanishad and Shvetashvatara Upanishad are referred to in the Ishvara-gita. It offers yoga and vrata in the same way as the Bhagavad Gita does, but as a Shiva discourse. According to the scripture, the conversation begins when Vishnu and Shiva hug each other, and then Vishnu invites Shiva to explain the nature of the world, life, and self. In the Kurma Purana, Shiva discusses Atman (soul, self), Brahman-Purusha, Prakriti, Maya, Yoga, and Moksha, as well as summaries of other Puranas.According to Rocher, the philosophical topic is based on Advaita Vedanta principles, which emphasise the identity of the Atman (individual soul) and the notion of Brahman as the Ultimate Reality. The book is famous for claiming that via Bhakti yoga, anybody from any varna can reach nirvana. The Nrada Pura (I.106.1-22) provides a synopsis of the partsalong with summaries of other Puranas.
Gita Press; 1st edition (1 January 2014)
496 pages
Diamond Pocket Books (1 January 2017)
Tradition believes that the Kurma Purana text had 17,000 verses, the extant manuscripts have about 6,000 verses.
VYASA
Gita Press; 1st edition (1 January 2014)
Diamond Pocket Books (1 January 2017)
The original core of the text may have been composed about
the start of the 8th-century CE, and revised thereafter over the centuries.
The Kurma Purana, like all Puranas, has a complicated
chronology.
1 January 2014
1 January 2017