Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 53
Virocana–Bali, Aditi’s Tapas, and the Vāmana–Trivikrama Episode
विचक्रमे पृथिवीमेष एता- मथान्तरिक्षं दिवमादिदेवः / व्यपेतरागं दितिजेश्वरं तं प्रकर्तुकामः शरणं प्रपन्नम्
vicakrame pṛthivīmeṣa etā- mathāntarikṣaṃ divamādidevaḥ / vyapetarāgaṃ ditijeśvaraṃ taṃ prakartukāmaḥ śaraṇaṃ prapannam
Ce Dieu primordial (Vāmana-Viṣṇu) parcourut d’un pas la terre, puis la région intermédiaire (l’atmosphère), puis les cieux, voulant mettre un terme au seigneur des Dānava, Bali, qui, sans passion, avait cherché refuge et s’était abandonné à Lui.
Sūta (narrator) recounting the Vāmana–Bali episode in the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga narrative frame
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By presenting the Ādideva as pervading earth, atmosphere, and heaven through a single divine act, the verse points to a Lord whose presence and sovereignty are cosmic—suggesting the Supreme as all-pervasive and transcending limited location, while still engaging the world through līlā.
The verse foregrounds śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) and vairāgya (vyapeta-rāga, dispassion) as inner disciplines: Bali’s surrender and freedom from passion indicate the devotional-yogic posture of relinquishing egoic claim and accepting the Lord’s ordinance as dharma.
Although explicitly Vaishnava in imagery (Vāmana’s strides), the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis treats surrender, dispassion, and dharma as shared spiritual principles across Śaiva-Vaiṣṇava teaching; the same refuge-ethic later aligns with the Purana’s Shaiva-yogic emphases (e.g., Pāśupata-oriented discipline).