Shloka 59
Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī
इति सोमाष्टकेनेशं प्रणनाम पितामहः / पपात दण्डवद् भूमौ गृणन् वै शतरुद्रियम्
iti somāṣṭakeneśaṃ praṇanāma pitāmahaḥ / papāta daṇḍavad bhūmau gṛṇan vai śatarudriyam
આ રીતે સોમાષ્ટક સ્તોત્રથી પ્રભુની સ્તુતિ કરીને પિતામહ બ્રહ્માએ ઈશ્વરને પ્રણામ કર્યો. તેઓ દંડવત્ ભૂમિ પર પડી ગયા અને શતરુદ્રીયનો જપ કરીને સ્તુતિ કરતા રહ્યા।
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing Brahmā’s act of worship)
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By showing Brahmā himself bowing to Īśvara, the verse implies a supreme principle beyond the created order: the highest Lord who is worthy of Vedic praise (Śatarudrīya) and absolute surrender, indicating transcendent sovereignty over all cosmic functions.
The verse highlights embodied devotion as a discipline: stotra-japa/recitation (Somāṣṭaka and Śatarudrīya) combined with daṇḍavat-praṇāma (full prostration). In the Kurma Purana’s Pāśupata-leaning ethos, such humility, mantra-recitation, and total surrender function as practical limbs of worship leading to inner purification.
It presents Īśvara as the supreme recipient of Vedic Rudra-praise (Śatarudrīya) while situated within a Purāṇic framework that often harmonizes sectarian forms—suggesting that the highest Lord may be approached through Śaiva liturgy without contradicting the Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis.