Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 18
Jambūdvīpa Varṣas, Bhārata as Karmabhūmi, and the Sacred Hydro-Topography of Dharma
गायन्ति चैव नृत्यन्ति विलासिन्यो मनोरमाः / स्त्रियो यौवनशालिन्यः सदा मण्डनतत्पराः
gāyanti caiva nṛtyanti vilāsinyo manoramāḥ / striyo yauvanaśālinyaḥ sadā maṇḍanatatparāḥ
Charming, pleasure-seeking women sing and dance; endowed with the bloom of youth, they are ever intent on adornment.
Narrator (Purāṇic discourse context; describing the sphere of sense-enjoyment as an obstacle to vairāgya and yoga)
Primary Rasa: shringara
Secondary Rasa: hasya
FAQs
By contrasting the mind’s attraction to song, dance, youth, and adornment, the verse implicitly points to the need to turn inward from transient pleasures toward the steady awareness of the Self, which is not dependent on sensory objects.
The verse supports pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses) and vairāgya (dispassion): recognizing the charm of sense-objects as fleeting helps the practitioner restrain the mind and stabilize meditation.
It does not name Shiva or Vishnu directly; its practical teaching aligns with the Kurma Purana’s integrated path where devotion and yoga—whether framed as Shaiva or Vaishnava—require mastery over sense-allure to realize the one supreme reality.