Mādhayameśvara-māhātmya — Vyāsa at Mandākinī and the Pāśupata Vision
प्रविश्य शिष्यप्रवरैः सार्धं सत्यवतीसुतः / मध्यमेश्वरमीशानमर्चयामास शूलिनम्
praviśya śiṣyapravaraiḥ sārdhaṃ satyavatīsutaḥ / madhyameśvaramīśānamarcayāmāsa śūlinam
ఆపై సత్యవతీ సుతుడు (వ్యాసుడు) తన శ్రేష్ఠ శిష్యులతో కలిసి లోనికి ప్రవేశించి, మధ్యమేశ్వరుడైన ఈశానుడు, త్రిశూలధారి శూలినుడిని అర్చించాడు.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing Vyāsa’s actions within the Kurma Purana’s tirtha-devotion context)
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: shanta
By presenting Īśāna (Śiva) as the worship-worthy Lord approached by Vyāsa, the verse points to the Purāṇic view that the Supreme is accessed through īśvara-bhakti—reverent worship that steadies the mind toward the highest Reality.
The practice implied is īśvara-upāsanā (devotional worship of the Lord) performed in the company of disciplined disciples—an outer form supporting inner yoga: concentration, purity, and surrender, aligning with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-Pashupata devotional ethos.
Though centered on Śiva (Īśāna, Śūlin), it is situated within a Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa, showing the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: reverence to Śiva functions as reverence to the Supreme, harmonizing Shaiva and Vaishnava devotion.