Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 74
Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction
दृष्ट्वा तदीदृशं रूपं देव्या माहेश्वरं परम् / भयेन च समाविष्टः स राजा हृष्टमानसः
dṛṣṭvā tadīdṛśaṃ rūpaṃ devyā māheśvaraṃ param / bhayena ca samāviṣṭaḥ sa rājā hṛṣṭamānasaḥ
دیوی کے اُس برتر، ماہیشور-مانند روپ کو دیکھ کر بادشاہ ہیبت و خوفِ عقیدت میں ڈوب گیا؛ پھر بھی اس کا دل سرور و مسرت سے بھر اٹھا۔
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator continuing the Ishvara Gita context, describing the king’s response)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It portrays the Supreme as a manifest, overwhelming reality that evokes both bhaya (awe) and harṣa (inner joy), indicating the Atman/Iśvara is not merely conceptual but directly experiential in darśana.
The verse emphasizes the fruit of contemplative absorption leading to darśana—where the practitioner’s mind can hold reverent awe without collapse, a hallmark of disciplined devotion aligned with Pāśupata-oriented Śaiva practice within the Ishvara Gita setting.
By describing a “māheśvara” (Śiva-character) supreme form within the Kurma Purana’s Ishvara Gita stream, it supports the text’s synthesis: the Supreme can be approached through Śaiva imagery without contradicting the broader Vaiṣṇava frame of the Purāṇa.