Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 114
Prāyaścitta for Theft, Forbidden Foods, Impurity, and Ritual Lapses; Tīrtha–Vrata Remedies; Pativratā Mahātmyam via Sītā and Agni
गृहीत्वा मायया वेषं चरन्तीं विजने वने / समाहर्तुं मतिं चक्रे तापसः किल कामिनीम्
gṛhītvā māyayā veṣaṃ carantīṃ vijane vane / samāhartuṃ matiṃ cakre tāpasaḥ kila kāminīm
وبقوّة المايا (māyā) اتّخذت هيئةً متنكّرة وسارت في غابةٍ موحشة؛ فالعابد الزاهد—كما يُروى—عزم في قلبه أن يقترب ويستميل تلك المرأة الفاتنة.
Narrator (Purāṇic narration within the Kurma Purana’s story-flow; speaker not explicit in this single verse)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
By highlighting māyā’s power to distort perception and provoke desire, the verse implies that Self-knowledge requires seeing beyond appearances; the Atman is not swayed by such guises, but the untrained mind is.
The verse points to the necessity of indriya-nigraha (sense-restraint) and citta-śuddhi (purification of mind). In the Kurma Purana’s yogic ethic (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline), temptation becomes a test of vairāgya and steadiness in tapas.
Indirectly: the shared Purāṇic teaching is that liberation depends on conquering māyā and kāma through yoga and dharma—principles affirmed across both Shaiva and Vaishnava streams in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis.