Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16
Sūrya-vaṃśa Genealogy and the Supremacy of Tapas: Gāyatrī-Japa, Rudra-Darśana, and Śatarudrīya Upadeśa
न यस्य भगवान् ब्रह्मा प्रभावं वेत्ति तत्त्वतः / तमाराध्य हृषीकेशं प्राप्नुयाद्धार्मिकं सुतम्
na yasya bhagavān brahmā prabhāvaṃ vetti tattvataḥ / tamārādhya hṛṣīkeśaṃ prāpnuyāddhārmikaṃ sutam
ผู้ซึ่งแม้พระพรหมผู้เป็นภควานก็ยังไม่อาจรู้เดชานุภาพโดยแท้—เมื่อบูชาพระหฤษีเกศ ย่อมได้บุตรผู้ตั้งมั่นในธรรมะ.
Narrator/Sage (Purāṇic discourse) presenting a vrata/phala-śruti style assurance of putra-prāpti through devotion to Hṛṣīkeśa
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It stresses the transcendence of the Supreme: even Brahmā cannot fully know His prabhāva “in truth,” implying the Lord’s reality surpasses limited cosmic intellect and is approached through devotion rather than mere conceptual knowledge.
The verse foregrounds ārādhana (devotional worship) as a practical sādhanā—channeling the senses toward Hṛṣīkeśa (the Lord of the senses). In Kurma Purana’s dharma-yoga framework, such disciplined bhakti supports householders seeking righteous progeny.
Though explicitly Vaishnava in naming Hṛṣīkeśa, the theological tone matches the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: the Supreme is beyond full comprehension even for Brahmā, and divine worship (whether framed in Shaiva or Vaishnava idiom) is upheld as an efficacious path aligned with dharma.