Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 21
Durjaya, Urvaśī, and the Expiation at Vārāṇasī
Genealogy and Sin-Removal through Viśveśvara
वीक्ष्य मालाममित्रघ्नः सस्माराप्सरसां वराम् / उर्वशीं तां मनश्चक्रे तस्या एवेयमर्हति
vīkṣya mālāmamitraghnaḥ sasmārāpsarasāṃ varām / urvaśīṃ tāṃ manaścakre tasyā eveyamarhati
माला को देखकर शत्रुनाशक ने अप्सराओं में श्रेष्ठ का स्मरण किया। उसने उर्वशी पर मन स्थिर किया—“यह माला तो उसी के योग्य है।”
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing the event)
Primary Rasa: shringara
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly, it highlights the mind’s tendency to project worth and beauty onto objects; by contrast, the Purāṇic teaching is that the Ātman is not bound to such mental constructions and remains unattached.
The verse points to the need for manonigraha (restraint of the mind): the mind quickly fixes on a desired object (Urvāśī). In the Kurma Purana’s broader yoga-ethic, this becomes a cue for cultivating vairāgya (dispassion) and steadiness of attention.
This specific verse is a narrative moment and does not explicitly teach Shiva–Vishnu unity; its contribution is thematic—showing how worldly fascination arises, which later Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis passages address through devotion and disciplined yoga.