Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 40
Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany
प्रविश्य भवनं कृष्ण आशीर्वादाभिवर्धितः / वरासने महायोगी भाति देवीभिरन्वितः
praviśya bhavanaṃ kṛṣṇa āśīrvādābhivardhitaḥ / varāsane mahāyogī bhāti devībhiranvitaḥ
அரண்மனையில் நுழைந்து ஆசீர்வாதங்களால் வலிமை பெற்ற கிருஷ்ணன், தேவியரால் சூழப்பட்ட மகாயோகியாக, சிறந்த சிங்காசனத்தில் அமர்ந்து ஒளிர்ந்தான்।
Sūta (narrator) recounting the scene to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By calling Kṛṣṇa “Mahāyogī” and describing his radiance, the verse presents the Supreme as inwardly established (yoga-sthita) yet outwardly manifest—self-luminous and sovereign, receiving honor without being dependent on it.
No step-by-step practice is taught in this line; instead, “Mahāyogī” signals mastery of Yoga—steadfast inner absorption and lordship over the senses—consistent with the Kurma Purana’s broader yogic ethos later systematized in its Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis.
Though Śiva is not named here, the epithet “Mahāyogī” uses a Shaiva-coded yogic title for Kṛṣṇa, aligning with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian method: the same Supreme is praised through both Vaishnava and Shaiva spiritual vocabulary.