Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 49
Kapardeśvara at Piśācamocana — Liberation of a Piśāca and the Brahmapāra Hymn
एतद् रहस्यमाख्यातं माहात्म्यं वः कपर्दिनः / न कश्चिद् वेत्ति तमसा विद्वानप्यत्र मुह्यति
etad rahasyamākhyātaṃ māhātmyaṃ vaḥ kapardinaḥ / na kaścid vetti tamasā vidvānapyatra muhyati
یہ کَپَردِن (شیو) کی پوشیدہ بات اور اس کی مہاتمیا میں نے تمہیں بتا دی۔ پھر بھی کوئی اسے حقیقتاً نہیں جانتا؛ تاریکی (تمس) میں ڈھک کر یہاں عالم بھی حیران و پریشان ہو جاتا ہے۔
Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) instructing sages (Kurma Purana discourse frame)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It implies that ultimate divine reality cannot be grasped merely by scholarship; when consciousness is covered by tamas (avidyā), even the learned fail to recognize the truth behind Śiva’s greatness—pointing to a need for direct realization beyond concepts.
The verse stresses removing tamas/ignorance, which the Kurma Purana commonly frames through disciplined sādhana—purification, steadiness of mind, and contemplative insight (dhyāna/jñāna supported by dharma)—so that the ‘rahasya’ becomes experientially known rather than intellectually debated.
With Viṣṇu (as Lord Kūrma) proclaiming Śiva’s secret greatness, it reinforces the Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava harmony: the divine is honored through multiple names and forms, and sectarian rivalry is portrayed as a product of tamas and misunderstanding.