Shloka 5
Tāmasa Sarga, the Androgynous Division of Brahmā, and the Lineages of Dharma and Adharma
अधर्माचरणो विप्रा हिंसा चाशुभलक्षणा / स्वां तनुं स ततो ब्रह्मा तामपोहत भास्वराम्
adharmācaraṇo viprā hiṃsā cāśubhalakṣaṇā / svāṃ tanuṃ sa tato brahmā tāmapohata bhāsvarām
ഹേ വിപ്രന്മാരേ! അധർമ്മാചരണംയും അശുഭലക്ഷണങ്ങളോടുകൂടിയ ഹിംസയും ഉദിച്ചപ്പോൾ, ബ്രഹ്മാവ് തന്റെ ഉള്ളിലെ ആ തമോമയ ദേഹം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് ദീപ്തമായ ദിവ്യരൂപം ധരിച്ചു।
Sūta (narrator) describing cosmic events to the sages
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly, it distinguishes the luminous, sattvic orientation toward order (dharma) from the dark, tamasic drift into adharma—implying that inner purity aligns one with the higher, light-like reality rather than with violence and impurity.
The verse points to a yogic principle of purification (śuddhi): rejecting hiṃsā and adharmic tendencies as obstacles, and cultivating a “bhāsvara” (luminous) disposition—an ethical foundation required for higher practices taught later in Kurma Purana’s yoga streams (including Pāśupata-oriented restraint and discipline).
Though not naming them, it reflects a shared Purāṇic theology where cosmic order is restored by removing tamasic distortions; this harmonizes with the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis in which divine governance (Īśvara) safeguards dharma through purification and re-establishment of auspiciousness.