Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 33
Naimiṣa-kṣetra-prādurbhāva and Jāpyeśvara-māhātmya — Nandī’s Birth, Japa, and Consecration
तृतीयां जप्तुमिच्छामि कोटिं भूयो ऽपि शङ्कर / तथास्त्वित्याह विश्वात्मा देवो ऽप्यन्तरधीयत
tṛtīyāṃ japtumicchāmi koṭiṃ bhūyo 'pi śaṅkara / tathāstvityāha viśvātmā devo 'pyantaradhīyata
「おお、シャンカラよ、第三の持誦をさらにもう一度—なお一コーティ重ねて行いたい。」宇宙の自己たる主は「そのようにあれ」と答え、神は姿を消した。
A devotee/ascetic addressing Śaṅkara; the responding deity is the Viśvātmā (the Lord as universal Self) who grants assent and disappears.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
By calling the deity “Viśvātmā,” the verse frames God as the universal indwelling Self, whose grace authorizes and empowers disciplined practice rather than merely external ritual.
The verse highlights mantra-japa as a central sādhana: repeated recitation in vast counts (koṭi) as tapas, implying sustained concentration (dhāraṇā) and devotion directed toward Īśvara.
The devotee addresses Śaṅkara while the responding Lord is termed Viśvātmā, reflecting the Purāṇic synthesis where the supreme principle may be invoked through Śiva-language yet affirmed as the all-pervading Īśvara beyond sectarian division.