Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे त्रयोविंशो ऽध्यायः सूत उवाच अथ देवो हृषीकेशो भगवान् पुरुषोत्तमः / तताप घोरं पुत्रार्थं निदानं तपसस्तपः
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge trayoviṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ sūta uvāca atha devo hṛṣīkeśo bhagavān puruṣottamaḥ / tatāpa ghoraṃ putrārthaṃ nidānaṃ tapasastapaḥ
ดังนี้ ในศรีกูรมปุราณะ สังหิตาหกพันโศลก ภาคปูรวะ บทที่ยี่สิบสามสิ้นสุดลง สุ ตะกล่าวว่า—แล้วพระหฤษีเกศ ผู้เป็นภควาน ปุรุโษตตมะ ได้บำเพ็ญตบะอันน่าสะพรึงเพื่อปรารถนาบุตร เป็นตบะอันเป็นมูลเหตุและแบบอย่างแห่งตบะทั้งปวง
Sūta
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By naming Hṛṣīkeśa as “Bhagavān” and “Puruṣottama,” the verse frames the Supreme as the personal, sovereign ground of spiritual discipline—one whose will can employ tapas as a cosmic principle, implying a supreme Self that is both transcendent and purposively active.
The verse highlights tapas (austerity) as a primary yogic instrument—intense self-discipline and concentrated spiritual effort—presented as “tapasas tapaḥ,” i.e., a paradigmatic form of ascetic practice that undergirds later Purāṇic discussions of vow, restraint, and meditative resolve.
While Śiva is not named in this line, the Kurma Purāṇa’s characteristic synthesis is supported here by presenting tapas as a shared, trans-sectarian spiritual technology: the Supreme (here Vishnu as Hṛṣīkeśa) exemplifies the same ascetic principle celebrated in Śaiva-Pāśupata contexts.