Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 54
Kali-yuga Doṣas, the Supremacy of Rudra as Refuge, and the Closure of the Manvantara Teaching
एवमुक्तो भगवता किरीटी श्वेतवाहनः / बभार परमां भक्तिमीशाने ऽव्यभिचारिणीम्
evamukto bhagavatā kirīṭī śvetavāhanaḥ / babhāra paramāṃ bhaktimīśāne 'vyabhicāriṇīm
Ainsi instruit par le Seigneur Bienheureux, le héros couronné—monté sur sa monture blanche—prit en lui la bhakti suprême, sans déviation, envers Īśāna, le Seigneur.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator continuing the account after the Lord’s instruction)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
By emphasizing avyabhicāriṇī-bhakti (non-deviating devotion) to Īśāna, the verse points to single-pointed orientation toward the Supreme Lord as the stabilizing center of consciousness—an approach that supports inner steadiness conducive to realizing the Self.
The verse highlights the inner discipline of exclusivity and steadiness (avyabhicāra) in devotion—akin to ekāgratā (one-pointedness). In the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis, such unwavering bhakti functions as a practical limb supporting meditative absorption and Pāśupata-oriented worship of Īśāna.
A “Bhagavān” instructs, and the result is devotion directed to Īśāna (Śiva), reflecting the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance: devotion to one Supreme Lord is not sectarian but harmonized—Śiva and Viṣṇu are approached as convergent expressions of īśvaratva (Lordship).