Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 13
Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany
काश्चिद् भूषणवर्याणि समादाय तदङ्गतः / स्वात्मानं बूषयामासुः स्वात्मगैरपि माधवम्
kāścid bhūṣaṇavaryāṇi samādāya tadaṅgataḥ / svātmānaṃ būṣayāmāsuḥ svātmagairapi mādhavam
ചിലർ അവന്റെ ദേഹത്തിൽ നിന്നുള്ള ശ്രേഷ്ഠാഭരണങ്ങൾ എടുത്ത് തങ്ങളെത്തന്നെ അലങ്കരിച്ചു; പിന്നെ തങ്ങളുടെ തന്നെ ആഭരണങ്ങളാൽ മാധവനെയും അലങ്കരിച്ചു।
Suta (narrator) describing the devotees’ actions in the Kurma Purana narrative flow
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shringara
FAQs
By showing ornaments moving between the Lord and the devotees, the verse hints at intimacy and shared “belonging”: devotion treats the Lord as one’s very Self (svātma), while still honoring His transcendent lordship—an experiential bridge often used in Purana-yoga to approach the Paramatman.
The practice implied is karma-yoga expressed as bhakti-sevā: offering, adorning, and worshipful service (upacāra) performed with inward identification and reverence—an outer ritual that trains inner concentration, humility, and single-pointed devotion.
Though the verse names Mādhava (Vishnu), Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis reads such worship as īśvara-bhakti in general: the same Supreme is approached through different names and forms, with service (sevā) as the unifying discipline.