Shloka 88
Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī
निहत्य विष्णुपुरुषं सार्धं प्रमथपुङ्गवैः / विवेश चान्तरगृहं समादाय कलेवरम्
nihatya viṣṇupuruṣaṃ sārdhaṃ pramathapuṅgavaiḥ / viveśa cāntaragṛhaṃ samādāya kalevaram
ครั้นสังหาร “บุรุษแห่งพระวิษณุ” พร้อมด้วยเหล่าประมถะผู้ยอดเยี่ยมแล้ว เขาอุ้มร่างนั้นเข้าไปสู่ห้องชั้นใน
Sūta (narrator) recounting events to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
This verse is primarily narrative rather than doctrinal: it depicts a violent episode involving a “Viṣṇu-person” and Śiva’s Pramathas, serving as story-context within which the Purāṇa later teaches that the Supreme Reality transcends sectarian appearance and conflict.
No direct yogic technique is taught in this line; it functions as a plot moment. In the broader Kurma Purana, such narratives often frame later instruction on Pāśupata discipline—restraint, devotion, and inner purification—rather than focusing on this act itself as a practice.
On the surface it portrays confrontation involving Śiva’s Pramathas and a Viṣṇu-identified figure; in the Kurma Purana’s larger Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such tensions are typically resolved by affirming a higher unity beyond competing forms.