Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 114
Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga
ब्रह्मणश्च शिरो हर्त्रे नमस्ते कालरूपिणे / आगतिं ते न जनीमो गतिं नैव च नैव च / विश्वेश्वर महादेव यो ऽसि सो ऽसि नमो ऽस्तु ते
brahmaṇaśca śiro hartre namaste kālarūpiṇe / āgatiṃ te na janīmo gatiṃ naiva ca naiva ca / viśveśvara mahādeva yo 'si so 'si namo 'stu te
ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਦਾ ਸਿਰ ਹਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ, ਕਾਲ-ਰੂਪ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ, ਤੈਨੂੰ ਨਮਸਕਾਰ। ਅਸੀਂ ਤੇਰੀ ਆਉਣ ਦੀ ਗਤੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਜਾਣਦੇ, ਤੇਰੀ ਜਾਣ ਦੀ ਗਤੀ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ—ਕਦੇ ਨਹੀਂ। ਹੇ ਵਿਸ਼ਵੇਸ਼ਵਰ, ਹੇ ਮਹਾਦੇਵ—ਤੂੰ ਜੋ ਹੈਂ ਸੋ ਹੈਂ; ਤੈਨੂੰ ਨਮਹ ਹੋਵੇ।
Devotees/sages offering a Śiva-stuti within the Kurma Purana’s Upari-bhāga discourse (Śaiva praise embedded in the Purāṇic narration)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
By declaring that Śiva’s coming and going are unknowable, the verse points to a reality beyond temporal change—an absolute principle not limited by birth, movement, or destination, akin to the Atman/Brahman beyond time.
The verse supports contemplative absorption (dhyāna) on Īśvara as Kāla-transcendent: the practitioner meditates on the Lord as beyond all measurable transitions, cultivating vairāgya and one-pointed devotion (bhakti) aligned with Pāśupata-oriented theism.
In the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology, such Śiva-stuti is presented without sectarian conflict: honoring Mahādeva as Viśveśvara coheres with the Purāṇa’s broader view that the Supreme is one, praised through Śiva/Vişṇu forms according to context.