Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 63
Avimukta-Māhātmya — Vyāsa in Vārāṇasī and Śiva’s Secret Teaching of Liberation
वाराणस्याः परं स्थानं न भूतं न भविष्यति / यत्र नारायणो देवो महादेवो दिवेश्वरः
vārāṇasyāḥ paraṃ sthānaṃ na bhūtaṃ na bhaviṣyati / yatra nārāyaṇo devo mahādevo diveśvaraḥ
Не было и не будет места святее и выше Варанаси: там пребывает Сам Нараяна, и там же пребывает Махадева, Владыка богов, как божественный государь.
Sūta (narrating the Kurma Purana’s tirtha-mahatmya tradition to the sages)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By declaring Kāśī as the unsurpassed abode where both Nārāyaṇa and Mahādeva are present, the verse points to a single supreme reality revered through multiple divine forms—suggesting an underlying unity rather than competing ultimates.
The verse itself is a tirtha-mahātmya statement, implying a yogic discipline of pilgrimage, remembrance (smaraṇa), and single-pointed devotion (ekāgratā) in a sanctified space—supporting inner purification that complements Pāśupata and other yoga-oriented teachings found elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.
It places Nārāyaṇa and Mahādeva together in the same supreme locus, reinforcing the Kurma Purana’s Hari-Hara synthesis: Śiva and Viṣṇu are honored as mutually non-opposed manifestations of divine sovereignty.