Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 18
Oṅkāra-Liṅga and the Secret Pañcāyatana Liṅgas of Kāśī: Kṛttivāseśvara-Māhātmya
हत्वा गजाकृतिं दैत्यं शूलेनावज्ञया हरः / वसस्तस्याकरोत् कृत्तिं कृत्तिवासेश्वरस्ततः
hatvā gajākṛtiṃ daityaṃ śūlenāvajñayā haraḥ / vasastasyākarot kṛttiṃ kṛttivāseśvarastataḥ
Having slain with his trident the demon who had assumed the form of an elephant—out of contempt (for that foe)—Hara made of its hide a garment for himself; therefore the Lord came to be known as Kṛttivāsa (the One clothed in a skin).
Narrator (Purāṇic narration attributed to Vyāsa’s discourse tradition)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: it portrays Īśvara as the protector who subdues adharma; the divine identity (here Śiva as Hara) is expressed through a concrete līlā and a sacred epithet, pointing to the one Lord who manifests attributes for the world’s order.
No explicit technique is taught in this verse; however, Kṛttivāsa (wearing a hide) evokes Śiva’s ascetic, renunciant symbolism—often linked in the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva teaching milieu to vairāgya (dispassion) and mastery over fear and ego.
While the verse centers on Śiva, the Kurma Purana’s overall frame (spoken within a Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa) normalizes Śiva’s supremacy-in-function as part of a unified Īśvara-tattva, supporting the text’s Shaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis rather than sectarian separation.