Avimukta-Māhātmya — Vyāsa in Vārāṇasī and Śiva’s Secret Teaching of Liberation
जन्ममृत्युजरामुक्तं परं याति शिवालयम् / अपुनर्मरणानां हि सा गतिर्मोक्षकाङ्क्षिणाम् / यां प्राप्य कृतकृत्यः स्यादिति मन्यन्ति पण्डताः
janmamṛtyujarāmuktaṃ paraṃ yāti śivālayam / apunarmaraṇānāṃ hi sā gatirmokṣakāṅkṣiṇām / yāṃ prāpya kṛtakṛtyaḥ syāditi manyanti paṇḍatāḥ
Terbebas dari kelahiran, kematian, dan usia tua, ia mencapai Śivālaya yang tertinggi. Itulah tujuan para pencari mokṣa, keadaan tanpa kembali pada kematian. Setelah mencapainya, seseorang menjadi tuntas segala kewajibannya, demikian para bijak menyatakan.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the sages (contextual narrator framework of the Kurma Purana)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
It frames the supreme attainment as a state beyond birth, death, and aging—i.e., liberation (mokṣa) where all existential compulsion ends, described as reaching Śiva’s supreme abode.
This verse emphasizes the fruit of yogic and devotional discipline—apunar-maraṇa (no return to death). In the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-yogic register, such freedom is classically linked with Śiva-bhakti and Pāśupata-oriented inner renunciation culminating in mokṣa.
With Vishnu (as Kūrma) presenting Śiva’s abode as the supreme destination, the text reflects a synthetic theology: devotion and liberation are affirmed through Śiva while taught within a Vaiṣṇava narrative frame.