Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 88
Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī
निहत्य विष्णुपुरुषं सार्धं प्रमथपुङ्गवैः / विवेश चान्तरगृहं समादाय कलेवरम्
nihatya viṣṇupuruṣaṃ sārdhaṃ pramathapuṅgavaiḥ / viveśa cāntaragṛhaṃ samādāya kalevaram
Setelah membunuh ‘insan Viṣṇu’ bersama para Pramatha yang terunggul, Baginda memasuki bilik terdalam sambil membawa jasad itu.
Sūta (narrator) recounting events to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
This verse is primarily narrative rather than doctrinal: it depicts a violent episode involving a “Viṣṇu-person” and Śiva’s Pramathas, serving as story-context within which the Purāṇa later teaches that the Supreme Reality transcends sectarian appearance and conflict.
No direct yogic technique is taught in this line; it functions as a plot moment. In the broader Kurma Purana, such narratives often frame later instruction on Pāśupata discipline—restraint, devotion, and inner purification—rather than focusing on this act itself as a practice.
On the surface it portrays confrontation involving Śiva’s Pramathas and a Viṣṇu-identified figure; in the Kurma Purana’s larger Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such tensions are typically resolved by affirming a higher unity beyond competing forms.