Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 7
Puṣkara-dvīpa, Lokāloka, and the Measure of the Brahmāṇḍa
Cosmic Egg
वसत्यत्र महादेवो हरोर्ऽद्धहरिरव्ययः / संपूज्यमानो ब्रह्माद्यैः कुमाराद्यैश्च योगिभिः / गन्धर्वैः किन्नरैर्यक्षैरीश्वरः कृष्णपिङ्गलः
vasatyatra mahādevo haror'ddhahariravyayaḥ / saṃpūjyamāno brahmādyaiḥ kumārādyaiśca yogibhiḥ / gandharvaiḥ kinnarairyakṣairīśvaraḥ kṛṣṇapiṅgalaḥ
Aquí mora Mahādeva, el Señor imperecedero, mitad Hara y mitad Hari, venerado por Brahmā y los demás dioses, por Sanatkumāra y los sabios yoguis, y también por Gandharvas, Kinnaras y Yakṣas: Īśvara de tonalidad oscura y leonada.
Narrator (Purana-samvada frame; a sage describing the tirtha and the form of Mahadeva)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By calling the Lord “avyaya” (imperishable) and portraying him as the unified reality of Hara and Hari, the verse points to a single unchanging Īśvara underlying sectarian distinctions—an indicator of the Purana’s integrative theology where the Supreme is one though named in many ways.
The verse does not list techniques, but it highlights the yogic ideal of upāsanā (reverent contemplation and worship): Yogins headed by the Kumaras honor Īśvara, implying that realization is supported by devotion, purity, and steady contemplation of the Lord’s form and unity.
It explicitly presents Mahadeva as “half Hara and half Hari,” teaching a non-competitive unity: Shiva and Vishnu are shown as one Īśvara, a hallmark of the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis.