Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 52
Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga
ऋषय ऊचुः कश्चिद् दारुवनं पुण्यं पुरुषो ऽतीवशोभनः / भार्यया चारुसर्वाङ्ग्या प्रविष्टो नग्न एव हि
ṛṣaya ūcuḥ kaścid dāruvanaṃ puṇyaṃ puruṣo 'tīvaśobhanaḥ / bhāryayā cārusarvāṅgyā praviṣṭo nagna eva hi
仙人たちは言った。「あるこの上なく麗しい男が、聖なるダールの森に入って来ました。まことに彼は裸身のまま入り、全身の肢体が優美で美しい妻を伴っておりました。」
The sages (ṛṣayaḥ)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shringara
FAQs
Indirectly: the startling image of a naked, radiant figure in a “holy forest” sets up the Purana’s teaching that true spiritual authority is not judged by external marks alone; the Self is beyond social convention and appearances.
The verse signals an ascetic (often read as a Pāśupata-type figure) whose renunciation is outwardly extreme (nakedness). In Kurma Purana-style teaching, this points toward vairāgya (dispassion) and the testing of ritualistic pride—preparing the ground for inner discipline over mere external observance.
While not naming either deity, the Daruvana episode is commonly framed in the Kurma Purana as a Shaiva narrative preserved within a Vaishnava Purana voice—supporting the text’s broader synthesis where divine truth is one, expressed through different forms (Śiva/Vişṇu) for instruction.