Shloka 40
Viṣṇu at Upamanyu’s Āśrama: Pāśupata Tapas, Darśana of Śiva, and Boons from Devī
इहैव देवताः पूर्वं कालाद् भीता महेश्वरम् / दृष्टवन्तो हरं श्रीमन्निर्भया निर्वृतिं ययुः
ihaiva devatāḥ pūrvaṃ kālād bhītā maheśvaram / dṛṣṭavanto haraṃ śrīmannirbhayā nirvṛtiṃ yayuḥ
హే శ్రీమాన్! ఇక్కడ పూర్వకాలంలో కాలభయంతో భీతులైన దేవతలు మహేశ్వరుడైన హరుని దర్శించిరి; ఆయనను చూచి వారు నిర్భయులై శాంతి-నిర్వృతిని పొందిరి।
Narrator (Purāṇic discourse voice, describing events to a revered listener)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
By portraying even the gods as afraid of Kāla (Time) yet becoming fearless upon beholding Maheśvara, the verse implies a reality beyond time and fear—approached through direct vision (darśana) of the Lord, who embodies the timeless ground of security.
The verse emphasizes darśana and śaraṇāgati (turning toward the Lord) as transformative: fear dissolves when consciousness is oriented to Īśvara. In Kurma Purana’s broader yogic frame (including Pāśupata-leaning devotion and discipline), this aligns with steady remembrance and contemplative turning toward the divine presence as the antidote to anxiety and impermanence.
While explicitly praising Hara (Śiva) as the refuge from Kāla, it fits the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology where supreme protection is expressed through either form of Īśvara; sectarian difference is secondary to the shared function of the Supreme as liberator from fear and time.