Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 5
Tāmasa Sarga, the Androgynous Division of Brahmā, and the Lineages of Dharma and Adharma
अधर्माचरणो विप्रा हिंसा चाशुभलक्षणा / स्वां तनुं स ततो ब्रह्मा तामपोहत भास्वराम्
adharmācaraṇo viprā hiṃsā cāśubhalakṣaṇā / svāṃ tanuṃ sa tato brahmā tāmapohata bhāsvarām
Wahai para brāhmaṇa! Ketika laku adharma dan kekerasan bertanda malapetaka muncul, Brahmā menanggalkan dari dirinya wujud gelap itu dan mengenakan rupa yang bercahaya.
Sūta (narrator) describing cosmic events to the sages
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: shanta
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Indirectly, it distinguishes the luminous, sattvic orientation toward order (dharma) from the dark, tamasic drift into adharma—implying that inner purity aligns one with the higher, light-like reality rather than with violence and impurity.
The verse points to a yogic principle of purification (śuddhi): rejecting hiṃsā and adharmic tendencies as obstacles, and cultivating a “bhāsvara” (luminous) disposition—an ethical foundation required for higher practices taught later in Kurma Purana’s yoga streams (including Pāśupata-oriented restraint and discipline).
Though not naming them, it reflects a shared Purāṇic theology where cosmic order is restored by removing tamasic distortions; this harmonizes with the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis in which divine governance (Īśvara) safeguards dharma through purification and re-establishment of auspiciousness.