Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 46
Commencement of the Upari-bhāga: The Sages Request Brahma-vidyā; Vyāsa Recalls the Badarikā Inquiry and Śiva–Viṣṇu Theophany
अथास्मिन्नन्तरे दिव्यमासनं विमलं शिवम् / किमप्यचिन्त्यं गगनादीश्वरार्हं समुद्बभौ
athāsminnantare divyamāsanaṃ vimalaṃ śivam / kimapyacintyaṃ gaganādīśvarārhaṃ samudbabhau
তখন সেই অন্তরে এক দিব্য আসন উদ্ভূত হল—নির্মল, শিবময় ও মঙ্গলময়; তা ছিল অচিন্ত্য, গগনাধিপতির যোগ্য, দীপ্তিতে প্রকাশিত।
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing the scene)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By calling the manifestation “acintya” (inconceivable) and “vimala” (stainless), the verse points to the Supreme as beyond ordinary thought yet intrinsically pure—an Ishvara-principle that can be approached through reverence even when it transcends conceptual grasp.
The verse sets a yogic atmosphere rather than prescribing a technique: the appearance of a “divine seat” evokes āsana as the sacred support for contemplation, suggesting inner and outer purity (vimala) and auspicious orientation (śiva) as prerequisites for higher instruction associated with Pāśupata-aligned devotion and meditation.
The seat is described as “śivam” (auspicious/Śiva-toned) while being “worthy of the Lord of the heavens,” signaling the Kurma Purana’s integrative idiom where supreme lordship and auspicious Śiva-character are not opposed but harmonized within a single Ishvara-centered vision.