Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 23
Madhu–Kaiṭabha, Nārāyaṇa’s Yoga-Nidrā, Rudra’s Manifestation, and the Aṣṭamūrti–Trimūrti Teaching
रुरोद सुस्वरं घोरं देवदेवः स्वयं शिवः / रोदमानं ततो ब्रह्मा मा रोदीरित्यभाषत / रोदनाद् रुद्र इत्येवं लोके ख्यातिं गमिष्यसि
ruroda susvaraṃ ghoraṃ devadevaḥ svayaṃ śivaḥ / rodamānaṃ tato brahmā mā rodīrityabhāṣata / rodanād rudra ityevaṃ loke khyātiṃ gamiṣyasi
Śiva lui-même — Dieu des dieux — poussa un cri de pleurs, terrible et pourtant d’un timbre limpide. Alors Brahmā lui dit, tandis qu’il pleurait : « Ne pleure pas. » Ainsi, par ces pleurs, tu seras connu dans le monde sous le nom de « Rudra ».
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator) quoting Brahmā’s address to Śiva
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames a cosmic archetype where divine activity (Śiva’s lament and Brahmā’s naming) manifests as name-and-form in the world—suggesting that even the highest realities are known in creation through recognizable attributes and appellations.
No specific practice is prescribed in this verse; it functions as a mythic-etymological teaching. In Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva context, such passages support devotion (bhakti) and mantra-oriented remembrance of Śiva’s names, which later align with disciplined practice in Pāśupata-oriented spirituality.
Though Viṣṇu is not named here, the Kurma Purana’s overarching synthesis treats major deities as complementary expressions of the one supreme reality; this verse contributes by grounding Śiva’s universal recognition (“Rudra”) within cosmic order rather than sectarian rivalry.