Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 11
Vārāṇasī (Avimukta) Māhātmya and the Catalogue of Guhya-Tīrthas
ततः स्नात्वा समागत्य ब्रह्मा प्रोवाच तं हरिम् / मयानीतमिदं लिङ्गं कस्मात् स्थापितवानसि
tataḥ snātvā samāgatya brahmā provāca taṃ harim / mayānītamidaṃ liṅgaṃ kasmāt sthāpitavānasi
Puis, après s’être baigné et être revenu, Brahmā dit à Hari (Viṣṇu) : «Ce Liṅga que j’ai apporté, pourquoi l’as-tu installé ?»
Brahmā
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: by having Brahmā question Hari about establishing the Śiva-liṅga, the verse frames the Purāṇic teaching that the Supreme is one reality expressed through complementary forms (Śiva and Viṣṇu), hinting at a non-sectarian, unified ground of divinity behind names and icons.
The explicit practice is ritual purification—“having bathed” (snātvā)—which in Purāṇic discipline supports inner purity (śauca) as a preparatory limb for worship (upāsanā) and steadiness of mind, aligning with the broader Kurma Purana emphasis on disciplined practice leading toward higher realization.
Brahmā addresses Viṣṇu (Hari) while discussing the installation of a Śiva-liṅga, presenting Śiva worship as affirmed within a Vaiṣṇava frame—an explicit narrative device for Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava harmony and the theological unity of the two.