Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 159
Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction
कल्याणी कमला रामा पञ्चभूता वरप्रदा / वाच्या वरेश्वरी वन्द्या दुर्जया दुरतिक्रमा
kalyāṇī kamalā rāmā pañcabhūtā varapradā / vācyā vareśvarī vandyā durjayā duratikramā
She is Kalyāṇī—Auspiciousness itself; she is Kamalā (Lakṣmī), she is Rāmā, the Delightful One. She abides as the five great elements and bestows boons. Invoked by sacred speech, she is Vareśvarī, the Sovereign Lady, worthy of reverence—unconquerable and beyond all surpassing.
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing in the Īśvara-gītā context, presenting a devotional litany of Devī’s names as part of Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis
Primary Rasa: shringara
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By identifying the Goddess with the pañca-bhūtas (five elements) and as “unsurpassable,” the verse points to an all-pervading ultimate reality that is both immanent in the cosmos and transcendent beyond it—an Īśvara/Śakti expression of the one Supreme principle.
The verse emphasizes vācyā—invocation through sacred speech—supporting japa, stuti, and mantra-based contemplation. In the Kurma Purana’s Īśvara-gītā milieu, such disciplined recitation functions as a yogic aid for ekāgratā (one-pointedness) and devotion aligned with Pāśupata-oriented inner purification.
Within the Īśvara-gītā’s synthesis, the Supreme is praised through Devī as cosmic power and sovereignty; this supports the Purana’s non-sectarian stance where Vishnu (as Kūrma) teaches a theology compatible with Śaiva-Pāśupata devotion—one reality honored through complementary divine forms.