Shloka 23
Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga
तपांसि तेषां सर्वेषां प्रत्याहन्यन्त शङ्करे / यथादित्यप्रकाशेन तारका नभसि स्थिताः
tapāṃsi teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ pratyāhanyanta śaṅkare / yathādityaprakāśena tārakā nabhasi sthitāḥ
શંકરના સમક્ષ તેમની સર્વ તપસ્યા નિષ્ફળ થઈ ગઈ—જેમ આકાશમાં રહેલા તારાઓ સૂર્યપ્રકાશથી ઢંકાઈ જાય છે।
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator recounting events within the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By comparing lesser lights (stars) to the sun, the verse suggests a hierarchy of spiritual luminosity: individual powers gained by tapas are eclipsed before the supreme divine tejas. This points to the Atman’s highest grounding in Īśvara—where finite attainments lose separateness and stand revealed as secondary.
The verse emphasizes the limits of mere tapas (austerity) when divorced from surrender and right orientation to Īśvara. In a Pāśupata-leaning reading, it implies that yogic power and ascetic merit become effective only when aligned with Śiva’s grace (anugraha), not as independent spiritual capital.
While this verse explicitly magnifies Śaṅkara’s radiance, the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis frames such supremacy statements within Īśvara-centered unity: the same Supreme is praised through different forms. Thus, Śiva’s tejas here can be read as the one Īśvara-principle honored in Shaiva-Vaishnava harmony.