Shloka 26
Tāmasa Sarga, the Androgynous Division of Brahmā, and the Lineages of Dharma and Adharma
माया च वेदना चैव मिथुनं त्विदमेतयोः / भयाज्जज्ञे ऽथ वै माया मृत्युं भूतापहारिणम्
māyā ca vedanā caiva mithunaṃ tvidametayoḥ / bhayājjajñe 'tha vai māyā mṛtyuṃ bhūtāpahāriṇam
మాయా మరియు వేదనా—ఇద్దరూ యుగలమయ్యారు. ఆపై భయమునుండి మాయా, భూతాలను అపహరించే మృత్యువును జన్మింపజేసింది.
Sūta (narrator) recounting the cosmogonic account to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By portraying māyā, pain (vedanā), and death (mṛtyu) as generated principles, the verse implies they belong to the realm of prakṛti and bondage, not to the unborn, deathless Ātman that transcends fear and change.
While not prescribing techniques directly, it supplies the contemplative basis for Yoga: recognizing fear-driven māyā as the root of suffering and death motivates vairāgya (dispassion) and inner discipline—key prerequisites for the Kurma Purana’s later Pāśupata-oriented liberation teachings.
Indirectly, it supports the Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: death and suffering arise from māyā, whereas liberation is through the one Supreme Lord taught across Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms—Shiva as Pati and Vishnu as Īśvara—both pointing beyond māyā.