Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 20
Rudrakoṭi, Madhuvana, Puṣpanagarī, and Kālañjara — Śveta’s Bhakti and the Subjugation of Kāla
एवमुक्त्वा स राजानं कालो लोकप्रकालनः / बबन्ध पाशै राजापि जजाप शतरुद्रियम्
evamuktvā sa rājānaṃ kālo lokaprakālanaḥ / babandha pāśai rājāpi jajāpa śatarudriyam
وبعد أن قال ذلك، قام كالا—مُنظِّم العوالم—فقيّد الملكَ بأحبالِه؛ ومع ذلك ظلّ الملكُ يواصل تلاوة «شَتَرُدْرِيَة» لِرُدْرَا.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing Kāla’s act and the king’s devotion)
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
By showing the king steady in japa even when bound by Kāla, the verse implies that inner spiritual anchoring (ātma-niṣṭhā) can remain untouched by external compulsion—hinting that the Self is deeper than time-bound conditions.
It highlights mantra-yoga through continuous japa of the Śatarudrīya, a Shaiva practice aligned with Pāśupata-oriented discipline: maintaining remembrance of Rudra even amid fear, restraint, or suffering.
Within the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, devotion to Rudra through Śatarudrīya is upheld as a valid liberating practice inside a Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa framework, reflecting harmony rather than rivalry between Śiva and Viṣṇu.