Shloka 43
Divine Abodes on the Mountains — A Sacred Survey of Jambūdvīpa
Kailāsa to Siddha Realms
पाण्डुरस्य गिरेः शृङ्गे विचित्रद्रुमसंकुले / सन्धर्वाणां पुरशतं दिव्यस्त्रीभिः समावृतम्
pāṇḍurasya gireḥ śṛṅge vicitradrumasaṃkule / sandharvāṇāṃ puraśataṃ divyastrībhiḥ samāvṛtam
पाण्डुरगिरेः शृङ्गे नानाविचित्रद्रुमसंकुले, गन्धर्वाणां पुरशतं दिव्यस्त्रीभिः समावृतं विराजते।
Sūta (narrator) recounting the Purāṇic description to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya context)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shringara
FAQs
This verse is primarily cosmographical, portraying refined celestial domains; indirectly, it supports the Purāṇic view that all lokas—from earthly to Gandharva realms—remain within saṃsāra, while the Atman is the transcendent witness beyond such locations.
No explicit yogic technique is taught in this line; its function is to map sacred/celestial space. In the Kurma Purana’s broader frame, such descriptions support dhyāna by providing a purified imaginative geography (ālambana) and by orienting the aspirant toward higher, sattvic realms while still aiming for liberation beyond them.
The verse itself does not name Shiva or Vishnu; however, within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, celestial realms like the Gandharvas’ city are presented as part of a single divine order governed by Īśvara—harmonizing devotional cosmology with the text’s non-sectarian theological outlook.