Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany
एवं वै सुचिरं कालं देवदेवपुरे हरिः / रेमे नारायणः श्रीमान् मायया मोहयञ्जगत्
evaṃ vai suciraṃ kālaṃ devadevapure hariḥ / reme nārāyaṇaḥ śrīmān māyayā mohayañjagat
ఇలా ఎంతో దీర్ఘకాలం దేవదేవపురంలో శ్రీమాన్ నారాయణుడైన హరి, మాయచే జగత్తును మోహింపజేస్తూ లీలగా విహరించెను।
Purāṇic narrator (Sūta/Vyāsa tradition), describing Nārāyaṇa’s līlā
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
It presents Nārāyaṇa as the sovereign reality who, by māyā, veils true knowledge—implying that bondage is not ultimate but arises from divine veiling, and liberation comes by seeing beyond māyā to the Supreme.
The verse itself emphasizes māyā as the cause of delusion; in the Kurma Purana’s yogic framework, this points to the need for viveka (discernment), vairāgya (dispassion), and steady dhyāna to pierce māyā and realize the Lord as the inner ruler.
By locating Hari in “Devadeva-pura” (a Shaiva-coded epithet) while affirming Nārāyaṇa’s supremacy, it supports the Purana’s synthesis: one supreme Īśvara is praised through both Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms, with māyā as his shared divine power.