Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 104
Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga
दृष्ट्वा समागतं देवं देव्या सह कपर्दिनम् / प्रणेमुः शिरसा भूमौ तोषयामासुरीश्वरम्
dṛṣṭvā samāgataṃ devaṃ devyā saha kapardinam / praṇemuḥ śirasā bhūmau toṣayāmāsurīśvaram
ദേവിയോടുകൂടെ കപർദിൻ (ശിവൻ) ദേവൻ വന്നെത്തിയത് കണ്ട അവർ തല ഭൂമിയിൽ തൊട്ട് നമസ്കരിച്ചു; അങ്ങനെ ദേവങ്ങളുടെ ഈശ്വരനെ പ്രസാദിപ്പിച്ചു.
Suta (narrator) describing the scene to the sages (frame narration)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By calling Shiva “Īśvara” and showing that reverent surrender pleases Him, the verse implies the Supreme is a personal Lord approachable through devotion; the Atman’s alignment with Īśvara is expressed through humility and prostration.
The verse foregrounds bhakti-yoga expressed as praṇāma (prostration) and śaraṇāgati (surrender). In Kurma Purana’s spiritual ethic, such embodied reverence purifies the mind and becomes a preparatory limb for higher contemplation associated with Pāśupata-oriented discipline.
Though Vishnu is central to the Kurma Purana frame, this verse honors Shiva as Īśvara, reflecting the text’s non-sectarian synthesis: devotion to Shiva (with Devi) is presented as fully legitimate within a broader Purāṇic unity of the Supreme.