Kurmastakadvyam

Author(s): Bhojdev Maharaj
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Śiva asking the Chief Tortoise to carry the earth is not found in the Churning of the Ocean myth, in its versions in the Mahābhārata, the Visnu-Purāna, the Agni-Purāna, and the Bhāgavata-Purāna. It is not insignificant that both the Satakas invoke Śiva and not Vişnu. It is also worth mentioning that Bhoja's Vāstu text, the Samarāngana-sūtradhāra (Chapter 77, verse 38ff) does not mention Matsya and Kūrma as avatāras of Visnu, but begins its avatāra list with Varāha.
The goodness of Kūrma is emphasized in the Avani-Kūrma Sataka. The Kūrma is "solely devoted to doing good to others” (A, 11, 38, 63). This aspect is somewhat similar to references to the tortoise in the "Sānti Parva' (247, 4) of the Mahābhārata, the Bhagavad Gītā (II, 58) and the Mārkandeya Purāna (36, 33ff), in which it is a symbol of the self-controlled man, who has control over his indriyas (senses). The Kūrma of the Sataka (A, 22) withdraws its limbs within its shell. He is an instance of those who are steady and firm (A, 24), he alone strives without any motive (A, 34). “Look at a muni (sage) and a kacchapa (tortoise), and see their determination"(A, 30) (Figure 2).
The poems reveal several points of mythological significance. The second verse of the Sataka-A refers to kūrma as the golden mountain Meru, the world mountain in the centre of the Universe, a cosmic symbolism (Gonda, p. 128), and also as the "bulbous root of the creeper of the old”. This reminds us of the depiction of the tortoise supporting the creeper of life at Sanchi in central India in the 2nd century BC. The reference to Dhruva, the Pole Star (A, 29, 70, 96, 97), further establishes the cosmic symbolism of the Kūrma, who supports the Universe. The Pole Star above the earth and Kurma below the earth - all in a single line - indicate the axis. It is the Cosmic Axis, which joins the earth and the heavens.
In several stanzas (A, 65, 93, 94) the feat of the Kūrma in supporting the earth is ranked superior to those of 1) Varāha, Kiri, (Boar, the third incarnation of Visnu), 2) Sesa, the thousand-headed cosmic Serpent, a theriomorphic form of Visnu, and 3) the dig-gajas, eight Elephants of the Quarters. It is said that all these divine animals display their prowess and show off while supporting the earth, whereas the Kūrma quietly lies below the earth and hence is not even visible. We may note that in the 11th century images of Khajuraho and other sites in central India, the tortoise even supports Varāha, who holds the Earth Goddess (Prthvī) on his tusk. The Matsya Purana (Chapter 260), assigned between 5ch-10th centuries, and the Vastu text Aparajitaprcchā (Chapter 29, verse