Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 34
Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany
गते मुररिपौ नैव कामिन्यो मुनिपुङ्गवाः / निशेव चन्द्ररहिता विना तेन चकाशिरे
gate muraripau naiva kāminyo munipuṅgavāḥ / niśeva candrarahitā vinā tena cakāśire
لمّا مضى عدوُّ مُرَا (الربّ فيشنو)، لم يَعُدِ الحكماءُ الأجلّاء ولا المُشتاقون يشرقون—كليلٍ بلا قمر؛ فبدونه لا يَبدو لأحدٍ بهاءٌ ولا نور.
Purāṇic narrator (Sūta/Vyāsa tradition) describing the scene and its devotional mood
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By comparing the world’s radiance to moonlight, the verse implies that true luminosity (prakāśa) is borrowed: beings ‘shine’ only through the presence of the Supreme (here, Hari as Murāri), echoing the Purāṇic view that consciousness and auspicious power ultimately flow from Īśvara.
The verse highlights viraha-bhāva (spiritual longing in separation), a devotional concentration that steadies the mind on the Lord when external vision is absent—supporting the Kurma Purana’s broader yogic ethic where remembrance (smaraṇa) and one-pointedness (ekāgratā) mature into inner darśana.
While naming Viṣṇu (Murāri), it teaches a wider Purāṇic principle central to the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: radiance and auspiciousness arise from the one Īśvara; whether approached as Hari or as Śiva, separation from the Supreme yields darkness, and proximity yields spiritual ‘shine.’