Shloka 17
Kapardeśvara at Piśācamocana — Liberation of a Piśāca and the Brahmapāra Hymn
अस्मिन् क्षेत्रे पुरा विप्रास्तपस्वी शंसितव्रतः / शङ्कुकर्ण इति ख्यातः पूजयामास शङ्करम् / जजाप रुद्रमनिशं प्रणवं ब्रह्मरूपिणम्
asmin kṣetre purā viprāstapasvī śaṃsitavrataḥ / śaṅkukarṇa iti khyātaḥ pūjayāmāsa śaṅkaram / jajāpa rudramaniśaṃ praṇavaṃ brahmarūpiṇam
ఈ క్షేత్రంలో పూర్వం శంసితవ్రతుడైన తపస్వి బ్రాహ్మణుడు శంకుకర్ణుడని ప్రసిద్ధి; అతడు శంకరుని పూజించెను, మరియు బ్రహ్మరూపమైన ప్రణవం ‘ఓం’ అనే రుద్రమంత్రాన్ని నిరంతరం జపించెను।
Narrator (Purāṇic narration, traditionally Sūta reporting the sages’ dialogue; within Kurma Purana, the account is framed as sacred-kṣetra māhātmya narration)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
By identifying the Pranava (Oṃ) as “brahma-rūpin” (of the nature of Brahman), the verse implies that the highest Reality is accessible as the non-dual Brahman, while also being worshipped devotionally as Rudra/Śaṅkara—linking inner Self-knowledge with the supreme principle.
The verse highlights continuous japa (aniśaṃ-japa) of the Pranava as Rudra-mantra, paired with pūjā (ritual worship). In Kurma Purana’s spiritual idiom, this supports steady dhyāna through mantra-repetition, vow-discipline (vrata), and sustained remembrance—features aligned with Pāśupata-oriented Rudra-upāsanā.
Even while naming Śiva as Rudra/Śaṅkara, the verse frames his mantra as the Pranava—Brahman itself—reflecting the Kurma Purana’s synthesis where sectarian forms culminate in one supreme Brahman, allowing Śaiva devotion to harmonize with broader Vaiṣṇava-purāṇic non-dual theology.