Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 23
Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī
तदन्तरे महाज्योतिर्विरिञ्चो विश्वभावनः / प्रापश्यदद्भुतं दिव्यं पूरयन् गगनान्तरम्
tadantare mahājyotirviriñco viśvabhāvanaḥ / prāpaśyadadbhutaṃ divyaṃ pūrayan gaganāntaram
അതേസമയം, വിശ്വഭാവനനായ വിരിഞ്ചൻ (ബ്രഹ്മാവ്) ആകാശാന്തരം മുഴുവൻ നിറയ്ക്കുന്ന അത്ഭുതകരമായ ദിവ്യ മഹാജ്യോതി ദർശിച്ചു।
Purāṇic narrator (Sūta/compilers’ narration describing Brahmā’s vision)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By portraying the supreme as “mahājyotis,” an all-pervading divine light, the verse points to the Self as luminous consciousness that transcends form yet pervades the cosmos.
The verse emphasizes a yogic motif of darśana (direct vision): the mind becomes fit to ‘behold’ the divine radiance when purified—an idea aligned with Pāśupata-style inner discipline leading to the experience of the all-pervading Lord.
The ‘cosmic light’ functions as a non-sectarian marker of the one Supreme—read in the Kūrma tradition as the shared, ultimate reality revered as both Śiva and Viṣṇu beyond limiting names and forms.