Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga
भस्मपाण्डुरदिग्धाङ्गो नग्नो विकृतलक्षणः / उल्मुकव्यग्रहस्तश्च रक्तपिङ्गललोचनः
bhasmapāṇḍuradigdhāṅgo nagno vikṛtalakṣaṇaḥ / ulmukavyagrahastaśca raktapiṅgalalocanaḥ
Его члены, обмазанные пеплом, стали пепельно-бледны; он наг, с необычными внешними признаками сурового подвижничества. В руках — горящий головешка, глаза — красновато-бурые; так он явился в грозном облике аскета.
Narrator (Purāṇic voice, traditionally Vyāsa/Sūta framing) describing the ascetic’s outward characteristics in the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-oriented instruction
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Indirectly: it stresses external renunciant marks (ash, nudity, austere appearance), implying that such signs are secondary supports; realization of the Self is not the costume but the inner discipline typically taught alongside Pāśupata practice.
The verse highlights Pāśupata-style ascetic observances (vrata/ācāra) and outward disciplines—use of bhasma and severe comportment—often paired in this tradition with inner yoga: restraint, mantra, and single-pointed devotion to Īśvara.
By presenting a Shaiva ascetic ideal within the Kurma Purana (a Vaiṣṇava-linked Purāṇa through Lord Kūrma), it reflects the text’s synthesis: devotion to Īśvara is taught without sectarian rupture, allowing Shaiva Pāśupata disciplines within a broader Purāṇic unity.