Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Oṅkāra-Liṅga and the Secret Pañcāyatana Liṅgas of Kāśī: Kṛttivāseśvara-Māhātmya
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वंविभागे एकोनत्रिशो ऽध्यायः सूत उवाच स शिष्यैः संवृतो धीमान् गुरुर्द्वैपायनो मुनिः / जगाम विपुलं लिङ्गमोङ्कारं मुक्तिदायकम्
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvaṃvibhāge ekonatriśo 'dhyāyaḥ sūta uvāca sa śiṣyaiḥ saṃvṛto dhīmān gururdvaipāyano muniḥ / jagāma vipulaṃ liṅgamoṅkāraṃ muktidāyakam
Thus, in the Śrī Kūrma Purāṇa—within the six-thousand-verse compendium, in the Pūrva-bhāga—begins the thirtieth chapter. Sūta said: The wise sage Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa), the preceptor, surrounded by his disciples, went to the vast Oṅkāra-Liṅga, the emblem of Om, which bestows liberation.
Sūta
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By presenting Oṃkāra as the liberating sign (muktidāyaka), the verse points to the Upaniṣadic idea that realization of the one reality symbolized by Om leads to mokṣa—here approached through the Śaiva emblem of the Liṅga, suggesting a unified absolute beyond sectarian form.
The verse foregrounds Oṃkāra as a contemplative support: approaching and meditating on Om embodied as the Oṅkāra-Liṅga functions as a dhyāna-upāya (aid to meditation), consistent with Purāṇic Śiva-bhakti and mantra-centered discipline that culminates in liberation.
Vyāsa’s movement toward the Oṅkāra-Liṅga frames liberation through a Śaiva symbol while remaining within the Kūrma Purāṇa’s Vaiṣṇava setting, reinforcing the text’s synthesis: the one supreme is approached through both Śiva-sign (Liṅga) and the universal Om, implying non-opposition and shared metaphysical ground.