Shloka 30
Commencement of the Upari-bhāga: The Sages Request Brahma-vidyā; Vyāsa Recalls the Badarikā Inquiry and Śiva–Viṣṇu Theophany
शङ्खचक्रगदापाणिं शार्ङ्गहस्तं श्रियावृतम् / न दृष्टस्तत्क्षणादेव नरस्तस्यैव तेजसा
śaṅkhacakragadāpāṇiṃ śārṅgahastaṃ śriyāvṛtam / na dṛṣṭastatkṣaṇādeva narastasyaiva tejasā
Portant dans ses mains la conque, le disque et la massue, tenant l’arc Śārṅga et enveloppé par Śrī (Lakṣmī), nul homme ne put le regarder : à l’instant même, il fut terrassé par la seule radiance de ce Seigneur.
Sūta (narrator) describing the manifestation/vision of Lord Vishnu (Nārāyaṇa)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
By portraying the Lord’s overwhelming tejas that defeats ordinary perception, the verse implies the Supreme is not an object grasped by the senses; realization requires inner fitness—purification, devotion, and yogic steadiness—rather than mere sight.
The verse points indirectly to the need for adhikāra (spiritual preparedness): sense-restraint, concentration, and devotional contemplation (bhakti-yukta dhyāna). In Kurma Purana’s broader teaching, such preparedness aligns with disciplined yoga and dharma that make divine vision bearable.
Though explicitly Vaiṣṇava in iconography (śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-śārṅga with Śrī), the Kurma Purana’s synthesis reads this tejas as the one Īśvara-principle—honored as Vishnu here yet ultimately non-sectarian in essence, consistent with Shaiva-Vaishnava unity.