Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 62
Sūrya-vaṃśa Genealogy and the Supremacy of Tapas: Gāyatrī-Japa, Rudra-Darśana, and Śatarudrīya Upadeśa
चतुर्मुखं जटामौलिमष्टहस्तं त्रिलोचनम् / चन्द्रावयवलक्षमाणं नरनारीतनुं हरम्
caturmukhaṃ jaṭāmaulimaṣṭahastaṃ trilocanam / candrāvayavalakṣamāṇaṃ naranārītanuṃ haram
He beheld Hara (Shiva): four-faced, with matted locks piled as a crown, eight-armed, and three-eyed—marked with the moon as an ornament—whose very body was of both man and woman (the Ardhanārīśvara form).
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing the vision of Hara within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-Vaishnava theological frame)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By portraying Hara as simultaneously many-formed (four faces, eight arms) yet a single reality, and as male-female in one body, the verse points to a non-dual Supreme that transcends ordinary categories while manifesting as all forms.
The verse supports dhyāna-yoga through sāguṇa-upāsanā: meditating on specific divine marks (three eyes, moon-crest, multiple arms) to steady the mind—an approach aligned with Pāśupata-leaning Shaiva practice as integrated in the Kurma Purana.
Within the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such exalted description of Hara complements Vaishnava theology by presenting Shiva as a supreme manifestation worthy of yogic contemplation, reinforcing the Purana’s tendency toward harmony rather than sectarian opposition.