Shloka 85
Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī
अथ देवो महादेवस्त्रिपुरारिस्त्रिशूलभृत् / तमापतन्तं सावज्ञमालोकयदमित्रजित्
atha devo mahādevastripurāristriśūlabhṛt / tamāpatantaṃ sāvajñamālokayadamitrajit
ครั้งนั้นพระมหาเทพ ผู้เป็นตรีปุราริ ผู้ทรงตรีศูล—ผู้พิชิตศัตรู—ทอดพระเนตรเขาที่พุ่งเข้ามาด้วยสายตาเหยียดหยาม
Sūta (narrator) describing Śiva’s action in the Tripura episode
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
Indirectly, it frames Śiva as the unshaken divine witness and sovereign power: by merely “looking” upon the onrushing foe, Mahādeva embodies the supreme steadiness (ātma-sthairya) that subdues aggression—an image later harmonized in the Kurma Purana with the one Supreme (Īśvara) revered through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava lenses.
No technique is explicitly taught in this line, yet the motif of the deity’s composed, disdain-free sovereignty over turmoil mirrors yogic mastery—steadfast awareness (dhyāna-like poise) confronting the mind’s “onrushing” disturbances—an ethical-yogic subtext consistent with Kurma Purana’s wider Pāśupata-oriented discipline.
Though the verse names Śiva, the Kurma Purana’s broader theology reads such divine acts as expressions of the one Īśvara: Śiva’s triumph here can be understood as fully compatible with Vaiṣṇava devotion, supporting the text’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis rather than rivalry.