Shloka 124
Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga
गौतमो ऽत्रिः सुकेशश्च पुलस्त्यः पुलहः क्रतुः / मरीचिः कश्यपश्चापि संवर्तश्च महातपाः / प्रणम्य देवदेवेशमिदं वचनमब्रुवन्
gautamo 'triḥ sukeśaśca pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ / marīciḥ kaśyapaścāpi saṃvartaśca mahātapāḥ / praṇamya devadeveśamidaṃ vacanamabruvan
غوتَما، وأتري، وسوكِيشا، وبولاستيا، وبولَها، وكراتو، ومَريشي، وكاشيابا، وسَمْفَرْتا—وهم عُبّاد زهدٍ عظام—سجدوا لربّ الأرباب، ثم قالوا هذه الكلمات.
Narrator (Vyasa/Suta-style narration): describing the sages; the sages are about to speak to the Devadeveśa (the Supreme Lord, identified in Kurma Purana as Lord Kurma/Vishnu with Shaiva synthesis).
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: by calling the addressed deity “Devadeveśa” (Lord of lords), the verse sets the Ishvara-centered frame in which the Supreme is approached as the highest principle worthy of surrender before receiving teaching on Self and liberation.
The verse foregrounds the preparatory discipline of devotion and humility—praṇāma (reverential prostration)—which in the Kurma Purana’s Pashupata-oriented instruction functions as an entry-point to higher yoga: inner restraint, contemplation, and Ishvara-focused realization.
By using the universal epithet “Devadeveśa,” the Kurma Purana keeps the Supreme Lord as a single highest reality approachable through both Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms—supporting its characteristic Shiva–Vishnu unity before doctrinal exposition.