Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 58
Kali-yuga Doṣas, the Supremacy of Rudra as Refuge, and the Closure of the Manvantara Teaching
दृष्टवानसि तं देवं विश्वाक्षं विश्वतोमुखम् / प्रत्यक्षमेव सर्वेशं रुद्रं सर्वजगद्गुरुम्
dṛṣṭavānasi taṃ devaṃ viśvākṣaṃ viśvatomukham / pratyakṣameva sarveśaṃ rudraṃ sarvajagadgurum
നീ ആ ദേവനെ ദർശിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു—വിശ്വം തന്നെയാണ് കണ്ണുകളായും, എല്ലാ ദിക്കുകളിലും മുഖങ്ങളായും ഉള്ളവനെ—പ്രത്യക്ഷ സർവേശനായ രുദ്രനെ, സർവ്വജഗദ്ഗുരുവിനെ।
Narrator/teacher addressing the listener (Kurma Purana dialogue context affirming Rudra’s direct vision as Sarveśa)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By describing Rudra as viśvākṣa and viśvatomukha, the verse points to an all-pervading Lord whose awareness is not limited—suggesting the Supreme reality as immanent in the cosmos and directly knowable through realization (pratyakṣa).
The verse emphasizes pratyakṣa-darśana—direct experiential knowing of Īśvara—aligned with the Kurma Purana’s yogic aim of transforming devotion and discipline into immediate realization of the all-seeing Lord.
It presents Rudra as Sarveśa and Jagad-guru in a way typical of the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, where sectarian boundaries soften and the supreme Lord is affirmed through shared divine attributes (omnipresence, lordship, and guruhood).