Shloka 2
Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Mahālaya, Kedāra, Rivers and Fords, and Devadāru Forest
Akṣaya-Karma Doctrine
तत्र देवादिदेवेन रुद्रेण त्रिपुरारिणा / शिलातले पदं न्यस्तं नास्तिकानां निदर्शनम्
tatra devādidevena rudreṇa tripurāriṇā / śilātale padaṃ nyastaṃ nāstikānāṃ nidarśanam
അവിടെ ദേവാദിദേവനായ ത്രിപുരാരിയായ രുദ്രൻ ശിലാതലത്തിൽ തന്റെ പാദമുദ്ര സ്ഥാപിച്ചു—നാസ്തികർക്കുള്ള വ്യക്തമായ നിദർശനമായി।
Narrator (Purāṇic sūta/ṛṣi voice continuing the Kurma Purana narration)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
By presenting Rudra’s “footprint” as a visible nidarśana, the verse implies that the transcendent Lord (Iśvara) can be approached through manifest signs—supporting devotion and contemplation that lead the seeker inward toward the same Supreme Reality (Atman) beyond doubt.
The verse points to a tirtha-like “support” (ālambana) for faith and concentration: contemplating a sacred sign associated with Rudra steadies the mind, counters skepticism, and becomes a doorway to dhyāna and īśvara-smṛti—consistent with Purāṇic and Pāśupata-oriented devotion leading into yogic absorption.
Though Rudra is explicitly praised here, the Kurma Purana’s larger Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis treats such manifestations as revelations of the one Supreme Lord; the verse supports the Purāṇic view that devotion to Śiva functions within an overarching unity of Iśvara (often harmonized with Nārāyaṇa in the text’s wider theology).