The Kurma Purana
Vishnu’s Words of Wisdom in His “Tortoise Incarnation”
The highlight of the Kurma Purana is the Ishvar Gita, which describes the essentials of Yoga. A lesser-known romance of the Apsara Urvashi is also described.
Originally the Kurma Purana contained four sections known as the Brahmi Samhita, Bhagavati Samhita, Souri Samhita and Vaishnavi Samhita. Unfortunately today only the Brahmi Samhita survives. The Kurma Purana, or strictly speaking the Brahmi Samhita, has 17,000 couplets.
Lomaharshana recited the Kurma Purana to the assembled sages in the forest of Naimisharanya. However Vishnu originally recited the Purana during the Kurma Avatar. The Devas had been defeated by the Asuras and needed to churn out the “amrita” from the oceans in order to make them immortal and hence invincible. They tricked the Asuras into helping them in this task promising to share the amrita with them. Mount Mandara was used as the stirrer. However, as the ocean was being churned the mountain began to drill a hole in the earth. Vishnu then assumed the form of a giant tortoise and bore the weight of the mountain so that the churning could continue. It was then that he recited the Kurma Purana. Later he took the form of a beautiful maiden, Mohini, to prevent the Asuras from imbibing the amrita.
Urvashi and Durjaya
Urvashi is usually depicted as the lover of Pururava or the spurned lover of Arjun. The Kurma Purana recounts this story of the romance of Urvashi and Durjaya.
King Durjaya was a married man. But one day he saw Urvashi and fell in love with her. He then spent several years with year neglecting his wife and kingdom. Suddenly he remembered his responsibilities and begged Urvashi to let him go for a few days. Urvashi agreed on the condition that during this period he would abstain from sexual relations with any woman. When Durjaya stayed away from his wife she realized that something was wrong. She learnt that all these years her husband had been living with Urvashi. In order that he atone for his sins, the sage Kanva advised Durjaya to go to the Himalayas and meditate.
However on the way Durjaya dreamt of Urvashi and went to her. A few days later he told Urvashi what had transpired with his wife and the sage. Urvashi was aghast. She feared the wrath of the sage would fall on both her and Durjaya. Urvashi persuaded Durjaya to comply with the sage’s wishes. For 24 years Durjaya undertook severe penance after which his sins were pardoned. He then gave up his kingdom and began living in Varanasi as a common man.
The Ishvar Gita
Veda Vyasa himself recited the Ishvar Gita to the sages. The Ishvar Gita describes Yoga as the path to true knowledge. Yoga literally translates as union. Yoga is a meditation technique that brings about the realization that the jiv atma, or individual soul, and param atma, or universal soul, are one and the same.
Yoga has eight components. The first is pranayam or control of one’s breathing. The second component is pratyahar. This is control of ones senses. The postures of yoga or the asanas form the third component. The fourth component is yama or the practice of non-violence, truthfulness and pity. The fifth component is niyama, which is worship, study, practice of cleanliness and meditation. Dhyan is the sixth component, which involves conjuring an image of the param atman and continuously meditating on it. The next component, dharana, involves fixing this component in ones heart. The last component is samadhi in which the union of the jiv atman and the param atma is achieved.
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