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The Kurma Purana is one of the eighteen Mahapurana, a genre of Hindu religious texts. It is a medieval era Vaishnavism text of Hinduism. The text is named after the tortoise avatar of Vishnu. The manuscripts of Kurma Purana have survived into the modern era in many versions.It is believed to have been directly narrated by the Lord Vishnu to the sage Narada, and it contains the details about the Kurma Avatar. Narada is believed to have stated the contents of this Puranas to Suta, who narrated this Purana to an assembly of great sages. The Padma Purana categorizes Kurma Purana as a Tamas Purana (Purana of darkness or ignorance). The Kurma Purana exists in many versions, but all of them consist of two parts - the Purva-vibhaga (older part) and Upari-vibhaga (upper part). The number of chapters vary with the manuscripts. The critical edition of the different manuscripts contains 51 chapters in Purva-vibhaga and 44 in Upari-vibhaga.Kurma is, states Rocher, the most interesting religion-themed Purana, because even though it is named after one of the Vishnu avatar, it actually contains a combination of Vishnu and Shiva related legends, mythology, Tirtha (pilgrimage) and theology. The stories are similar to those found in the other Puranas, but neither Vishnu nor Shiva dominate the text. The text presents a tour guide to medieval Varanasi (also known as the holy city of Banaras or Kashi), but mostly about the Shaiva sites, while elsewhere Pancaratra stories present Vishnu prominently but with Sri as the Supreme Shakti who is energy and power of all gods including Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma.
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ISBN : 9788121225069
Pages : 844
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