Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28
Tāmasa Sarga, the Androgynous Division of Brahmā, and the Lineages of Dharma and Adharma
दुः खोत्तराः स्मृता ह्येते सर्वे चाधर्मलक्षणाः / नैषां भार्यास्ति पुत्रो वा सर्वे ते ह्यूर्ध्वरेतसः
duḥ khottarāḥ smṛtā hyete sarve cādharmalakṣaṇāḥ / naiṣāṃ bhāryāsti putro vā sarve te hyūrdhvaretasaḥ
هؤلاء جميعًا يُذكَرون بأن مآلهم إلى المعاناة، وكلّهم يحمل سمات الأدهرما. لا زوجة لهم ولا ولد؛ بل إنهم جميعًا «أُورْدْهْفَرِيتَس» (ūrdhvaretas)، أي الذين انقلبت قوّتهم التناسلية إلى العلوّ (بحكم الزهد).
Suta (narrator) recounting the teaching within the Kurma Purana’s dharma discourse
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames adharma as a cause of duḥkha, implying that liberation-oriented life must align conduct with dharma so the mind becomes fit for Self-knowledge rather than bondage-producing action.
The verse points to an ascetic orientation—ūrdhvaretas—often associated with brahmacarya and the sublimation of vital energy, a prerequisite in many Yoga-shastra and Pashupata-leaning disciplines for steadiness and inner purity.
Not explicitly; it contributes to the Kurma Purana’s shared Shaiva–Vaishnava ethic by grounding higher practice (including Pashupata-style restraint) in dharma and warning that adharma culminates in suffering.