Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 72
Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany
कस्त्वं कुतो वा किं चेह तिष्ठसे वह मे प्रभो / अहं कर्ता हि लोकानां स्वयंभूः प्रपितामहः
kastvaṃ kuto vā kiṃ ceha tiṣṭhase vaha me prabho / ahaṃ kartā hi lokānāṃ svayaṃbhūḥ prapitāmahaḥ
“Siapakah engkau? Dari mana engkau datang, dan mengapa engkau berdiri di sini? Dukunglah aku, wahai Tuan. Kerana akulah pembuat segala alam—Yang Terbit Sendiri (Svayambhū), Nenek Moyang Agung (Prapitāmaha).”
Brahma (Svayambhu, Prapitamaha)
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: hasya
FAQs
It presents Brahmā’s cosmic role as “creator,” but by using titles like Svayambhū it also hints that cosmic functions arise from a higher self-existent principle—an idea later harmonized in the Kurma Purana through devotion and yoga toward the Supreme Lord beyond mere cosmic office.
No direct practice is taught in this verse; it is narrative and cosmological. In the Kurma Purana’s broader teaching, such claims of agency are ultimately integrated into disciplined yoga (including Pāśupata-oriented restraint and devotion) where egoic doership is refined into surrender to Īśvara.
Indirectly: it shows a creator figure asserting authority within the cosmic hierarchy, a theme the Kurma Purana often resolves by subordinating all cosmic roles (including Brahmā’s) to the Supreme—expressed through Shaiva–Vaishnava unity where the highest reality is not limited to one functional deity.