Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28
Oṅkāra-Liṅga and the Secret Pañcāyatana Liṅgas of Kāśī: Kṛttivāseśvara-Māhātmya
आराधयन्ति प्रभुमीशितारं वाराणसीमध्यगता मुनिन्द्राः / यजन्ति यज्ञैरभिसंधिहीनाः स्तुवन्ति रुद्रं प्रणमन्ति शंभुम्
ārādhayanti prabhumīśitāraṃ vārāṇasīmadhyagatā munindrāḥ / yajanti yajñairabhisaṃdhihīnāḥ stuvanti rudraṃ praṇamanti śaṃbhum
वाराणसी के मध्य में स्थित मुनिश्रेष्ठ प्रभु—परमेश्वर—की आराधना करते हैं; निष्काम भाव से यज्ञ करते हैं, रुद्र की स्तुति करते हैं और शंभु को प्रणाम करते हैं।
Purana-narrator (Vyasa/Suta-style narration) describing the conduct of sages in Varanasi
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It points to a single supreme Lord (īśitā) worthy of worship; the sages approach that reality through purified, intentionless devotion—suggesting the Highest is accessed not by bargaining but by inner clarity.
The verse emphasizes niṣkāma-upāsanā (motive-less worship) expressed through yajña, stuti (hymn/praise), and praṇāma (prostration)—a bhakti-yoga discipline aligned with Shaiva-Pashupata ideals of purity of intention.
By calling the worshipped reality both “the Supreme Ruler” and explicitly “Rudra/Śambhu,” it reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative theology where the one Īśvara is approached through Shiva-names without denying the broader Vishnu-centered frame of the Purana.