Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 190
Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction
मदोत्कटा हंसगतिः प्रचण्डा चण्डविक्रमा / वृषावेशा वियन्माता विन्ध्यपर्वतवासिनी
madotkaṭā haṃsagatiḥ pracaṇḍā caṇḍavikramā / vṛṣāveśā viyanmātā vindhyaparvatavāsinī
She is exultant in divine intoxication, moving with the graceful gait of a swan; fiercely formidable, with terrible prowess. Clad in the guise of the Bull (Vṛṣa), she is the Mother of the heavens and the One who dwells upon the Vindhya mountain.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) speaking as the teacher within the Ishvara Gita context, presenting a Devi-stuti aligned with Shaiva–Vaishnava theology
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: by praising Devi as the cosmic Mother and sky-supporting power, it points to the Supreme as the all-pervading source whose śakti manifests as awe-inspiring force and graceful order—attributes that the Atman recognizes as its own ground when seen non-dually.
The verse functions as mantra-like stuti for bhakti-yukta dhyāna: contemplation of the Divine Power as both gentle (haṃsagati) and terrible (pracaṇḍā), integrating fearlessness and devotion—an affective support aligned with the Kurma Purana’s Pāśupata-oriented interior worship.
With Vishnu (as Kurma) voicing a hymn to Shakti using bull-associated imagery (often Shaiva), it reinforces the Purana’s non-sectarian unity: Shiva-tattva, Vishnu-tattva, and Shakti are harmonized as one supreme reality expressed through multiple divine modes.