Shloka 17
Naimiṣa-kṣetra-prādurbhāva and Jāpyeśvara-māhātmya — Nandī’s Birth, Japa, and Consecration
प्रीतस्तस्य महादेवो देव्या सह पिनाकधृक् / ददावात्मसमानत्वं मृत्युवञ्चनमेव च
prītastasya mahādevo devyā saha pinākadhṛk / dadāvātmasamānatvaṃ mṛtyuvañcanameva ca
Wohlgefällig gestimmt, verlieh Mahādeva—der Träger des Pināka—zusammen mit der Göttin ihm den Zustand der Gleichheit mit seiner eigenen göttlichen Natur und zudem die Macht, den Tod zu überlisten.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator continuing the Kurma Purana account; Śiva is the agent of the boon)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
By using the term ātma-samānatva, the verse frames liberation-like attainment as sharing in Śiva’s own nature—an elevated state of spiritual identity/likeness granted through divine grace rather than mere worldly reward.
The verse itself states the fruit—Śiva’s prasāda (grace) yielding ātma-samānatva and freedom from death—implying the Pāśupata-leaning discipline of devotion, austerity, and contemplative surrender that culminates in the Lord’s bestowal of siddhi and spiritual elevation.
While Viṣṇu is not named in this line, the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis treats such boons as expressions of the one Supreme’s grace; Śiva’s gift of ātma-samānatva aligns with the Purāṇic non-dual tendency to see ultimate liberation as participation in the same highest reality.