Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany
अपश्यंस्तं महात्मानं कैलासगिरिवासिनः / पूजयाञ्चक्रिरे कृष्णं देवदेवमथाच्युतम्
apaśyaṃstaṃ mahātmānaṃ kailāsagirivāsinaḥ / pūjayāñcakrire kṛṣṇaṃ devadevamathācyutam
เมื่อชาวเขาไกรลาสได้เห็นมหาตมะนั้น ก็พร้อมกันบูชาพระกฤษณะ—เทวเทพผู้เป็นอจยุตะผู้ไม่เสื่อมสูญ
Sūta (narrator) describing the scene to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
By calling the Lord “mahātmā” and “acyuta,” the verse points to a supreme, unfailing divine reality worthy of direct vision (darśana) and worship—suggesting a stable, transcendent ground beyond change.
The verse emphasizes darśana and pūjā (reverent worship) as a devotional discipline—an outward form of yoga that steadies attention on the imperishable Lord and aligns the practitioner with dharma through reverence and surrender.
Kailāsa—classically Śiva’s abode—honors Kṛṣṇa as “Devadeva” and “Acyuta,” reflecting the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance where Śaiva space and Vaiṣṇava supremacy converge in a single Supreme.