Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 11
Dakṣa-yajña-bhaṅgaḥ — Dadhīci’s Teaching and the Destruction of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice
न ह्यं शङ्करो रुद्रः संहर्ता तामसो हरः / नग्नः कपाली विकृतो विश्वात्मा नोपपद्यते
na hyaṃ śaṅkaro rudraḥ saṃhartā tāmaso haraḥ / nagnaḥ kapālī vikṛto viśvātmā nopapadyate
なぜなら、私は（ただ）ルドラとしてのシャンカラ—破壊者、タマスの性を帯びるハラ—であるだけではない。宇宙我は、裸形であったり、髑髏を携えたり、異様な姿であるかのように正しく想念され得ない。
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) speaking in a Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis context
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
It distinguishes the Viśvātmā (Universal Self) from limiting, purely anthropomorphic or sectarian images, asserting that the Supreme cannot be reduced to tamasic or grotesque external attributes.
The verse implies an inward, sattvic contemplative approach—meditation on the Universal Self beyond external marks—supporting the Kurma Purana’s broader discipline of knowledge (jñāna) and devotion (bhakti) rather than fixation on outward forms.
By using Rudra/Śaṅkara terminology while speaking from a universal standpoint, it supports a non-dual synthesis: sectarian labels and external iconography are secondary to the one supreme Viśvātmā acknowledged across Shaiva and Vaishnava frameworks.