Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 65
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
सो ऽपि नारायणं द्रष्टुं परमेण समाधिना / आराधयद्धृषीकेशं प्रणतार्तिप्रभञ्जनम्
so 'pi nārāyaṇaṃ draṣṭuṃ parameṇa samādhinā / ārādhayaddhṛṣīkeśaṃ praṇatārtiprabhañjanam
Lui aussi, désirant contempler Nārāyaṇa, adora Hṛṣīkeśa dans le samādhi le plus élevé—Celui qui brise la souffrance de ceux qui se prosternent dans l’abandon.
Sūta (narrator) recounting the account within the Kurma Purana’s opening narration
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
By presenting Nārāyaṇa as directly “to be beheld” through supreme samādhi, the verse implies a realizable Supreme Reality—known not merely by discourse but by inner absorption where the mind and senses are mastered under the Lord (Hṛṣīkeśa).
The verse foregrounds parama-samādhi (highest contemplative absorption) joined with ārādhana (devotional propitiation). It reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrated sādhanā: disciplined yogic stillness culminating in a grace-filled vision of the Lord, resonant with Pāśupata-style interiorization while remaining explicitly Vaiṣṇava in address.
Even while naming Viṣṇu as Nārāyaṇa/Hṛṣīkeśa, the method—supreme samādhi and surrender that removes distress—matches the Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis: the same liberating Lord is approached through yogic absorption and devotional surrender, a shared soteriology across sectarian forms.