Vamana Purana — Shiva's Kedara Tirtha, Shloka 64
Shiva’s Kedara-Tirtha and the Rise of Mura: From Shaiva Pilgrimage to Vaishnava Theology
पुलस्त्य उवाच अव्यक्तः सर्वगो ऽपीह एक एव महामुने चतुर्मूर्तिर्जगन्नाथो यता ब्रह्मंस्तथा शृणु
pulastya uvāca avyaktaḥ sarvago 'pīha eka eva mahāmune caturmūrtirjagannātho yatā brahmaṃstathā śṛṇu
Pulastya dit : «Ici, ô grand sage, l’Inmanifesté—bien qu’omniprésent—est un et unique. Pourtant, le Seigneur de l’univers est dit “quatre-formes”. Ô brahmane, écoute comment cela se peut.»
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FAQs
It asserts a single, all-pervading ultimate reality (avyakta) that is one in essence, even when spoken of through multiple forms or functions. The verse frames plurality (caturmūrti) as modes of one Lord rather than separate deities.
In Vaiṣṇava theological idiom, ‘caturmūrti’ commonly aligns with the four Vyūhas (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha). Some Purāṇic contexts also use ‘four forms’ more broadly (e.g., cosmic functions). The next verse’s mention of ‘Vāsudeva’ and ‘dvādaśa-patraka’ suggests a Vyūha-centered or emanational framework rather than an unrelated tetrad.
Even in tīrtha-mahātmya passages, the text often inserts doctrinal teaching to explain why a place is sacred: the tīrtha is holy because the one all-pervading Lord is present there in specific forms or manifestations. This verse functions as the theological preface to such localization of the divine.