Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 5
Brahmā’s Lotus-Birth, the Sealing of the Cosmic Womb, and the Epiphany of Parameśvara
Hari–Hara Samanvaya
श्रीकूर्म उवाच शृणुध्वमृषयः सर्वे शङ्करस्यामितौजसः / पुत्रत्वं ब्रह्मणस्तस्य पद्मयोनित्वमेव च
śrīkūrma uvāca śṛṇudhvamṛṣayaḥ sarve śaṅkarasyāmitaujasaḥ / putratvaṃ brahmaṇastasya padmayonitvameva ca
Śrī Kūrma said: “Listen, all you sages, to the account of mighty Śaṅkara—how he is spoken of as ‘the son of Brahmā’, and how Brahmā, too, is called Padmayoni, ‘the lotus-born’.”
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: by introducing Śiva and Brahmā within a sacred cosmological account, the verse frames them as manifestations within an ordered divine reality, preparing the listener for later teachings where ultimate divinity is understood as one, expressed through multiple forms.
No specific practice is taught in this verse; it functions as a narrative preface. In the Kurma Purana’s broader arc, such cosmological grounding supports later Shaiva-Vaishnava teachings where devotion, discipline, and yoga are aligned to realize the one Lord behind the deities.
Vishnu as Lord Kūrma authoritatively narrates Śiva’s account to the sages, a Purāṇic strategy that harmonizes traditions: Śiva is exalted (“immeasurable power”) while being placed within a shared theological framework voiced by Vishnu.