Is kurma connected to pratyahara?

By image and by function. The tortoise withdrawing is the standard illustration of sense withdrawal, and kurma is the reflex version of it.

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Kurma

Kūrma · कूर्म

The tortoise, which pulls its head into its shell. Governs blinking and the closing of the eyelids, and by extension the reflex that protects the eyes.

blinking eyelids tortoise protection

Group: One of the five upa-pranas
Governs: Blinking, eyelid movement, corneal moisture
Direction: Withdrawal
Name means: Tortoise
Related practice: Trataka, steady gazing
Sources: Gheranda Samhita, Ayurvedic compendia

What it does

Kurma closes the eyes, in reflex and in rest. The tortoise image is exact: withdrawal into shelter at the first sign of threat.

The practice that engages it directly is trataka, steady gazing at a flame, which works precisely by suspending this reflex for as long as is comfortable.

Withdrawal

The same word appears in pratyahara, the withdrawal of the senses that Patanjali lists as the fifth limb of yoga, and the tortoise is that limb's standard image. Kurma is the small physical version of a large contemplative move.

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Its practice