Shloka 23
Nine Creations (Sarga), Guṇa-Streams of Beings, and Brahmā’s Progeny in Cyclic Time
बोधितस्तेन विश्वात्मा तताप परमं तपः / स तप्यमानो भगवान् न किञ्चित् प्रतिपद्यत
bodhitastena viśvātmā tatāpa paramaṃ tapaḥ / sa tapyamāno bhagavān na kiñcit pratipadyata
ครั้นถูกปลุกเร้าแล้ว พระผู้เป็นอาตมันแห่งสรรพโลกได้บำเพ็ญตบะอันยิ่งยวด; แต่แม้พระภควานจะเพียรตบะ ก็ไม่บรรลุสิ่งใด—ผลอันประจักษ์ไม่ปรากฏ
Purana-narrator (Suta/Vyasa tradition) describing the episode in narrative voice
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By calling the Lord “viśvātmā,” it frames the Supreme as the all-pervading inner Self of the cosmos; yet the absence of an immediate “result” warns that realization/manifestation is not a mechanical product of effort but depends on deeper alignment with dharma and yogic maturity.
The verse highlights tapas—disciplined austerity—as a yogic limb that purifies and concentrates the mind; it also implies that tapas without the right inner orientation (bhakti, knowledge, or proper method) may not yield immediate siddhi or darśana.
While not naming Shiva explicitly, the verse’s emphasis on tapas and the title “viśvātmā” fits the Kurma Purana’s synthesis where the supreme reality is approached through yogic austerity common to both Shaiva (Pāśupata) and Vaishnava frameworks—one Lord, many modes of worship.