Shloka 17
Meru-Topography: Cities of Brahmā and the Dikpālas; Descent of Gaṅgā; Varṣa-Lotus and Boundary Mountains
तस्यास्तु पश्चिमे भागे निरृतेस्तु महात्मनः / रक्षोवती नाम पुरी राक्षसैः सर्वतो वृता
tasyāstu paścime bhāge nirṛtestu mahātmanaḥ / rakṣovatī nāma purī rākṣasaiḥ sarvato vṛtā
Na sua parte ocidental estende-se o domínio do grande Nirṛti; ali há uma cidade chamada Rakṣovatī, cercada por rākṣasas por todos os lados.
Primary narrator (Sūta) relaying the Purāṇic description as taught in the Kurma Purana’s geographic-cosmological section
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
This verse is primarily geographic-cosmological, mapping directions and realms; it does not directly teach Ātman-doctrine, but it supports the Purāṇic view that the cosmos—including auspicious and inauspicious domains—falls within a single ordered reality.
No explicit yogic practice is taught in this line; its value is contextual—Kurma Purana later frames spiritual discipline (including Pāśupata-oriented devotion and yoga) against a cosmos populated by diverse beings and realms.
This verse does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu directly; it belongs to the text’s broader integrative worldview where all directions, deities, and beings are situated within the same sacred cosmography that later accommodates Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis.