Shloka 25
Rudrakoṭi, Madhuvana, Puṣpanagarī, and Kālañjara — Śveta’s Bhakti and the Subjugation of Kāla
श्रुत्वा वाख्यं गोपतेरुग्रभावः कालात्मासौ मन्यमानः स्वभावम् / बद्ध्वा भक्तं पुनरेवाथ पाशैः क्रुद्धो रुद्रमभिदुद्राव वेगात्
śrutvā vākhyaṃ gopaterugrabhāvaḥ kālātmāsau manyamānaḥ svabhāvam / baddhvā bhaktaṃ punarevātha pāśaiḥ kruddho rudramabhidudrāva vegāt
Entendant la parole du Seigneur des êtres (Gopati), ce farouche—Kāla, dont l’essence même est le Temps—tint sa propre nature pour suprême. Puis, liant de nouveau le dévot de ses lacets, il se rua, courroucé, vers Rudra avec une grande vitesse.
Sūta (narrator) recounting the episode to the sages
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It contrasts the limited power of “Kāla” (time-bound force that binds) with Rudra as the higher lordly principle; the implicit teaching is that bondage belongs to time-conditioned nature, while the supreme reality transcends it and protects the devotee.
The verse uses the Pāśa (noose) as a classic yoga-śāstra metaphor for bondage; in Pāśupata-oriented reading, liberation comes by turning from time-driven impulses (kāla-dharma) to devotion and surrender to Īśvara, who cuts the bonds.
Though Rudra is the immediate divine focus here, the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis frames such episodes within a single Īśvara-tattva: the devotee’s refuge is the one supreme Lord manifesting as Śiva-Rudra and also praised elsewhere as Viṣṇu/Kūrma.