Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 105
Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī
ये स्मरन्ति ममाजस्त्रं कापालं वेषमुत्तमम् / तेषां विनश्यति क्षिप्रमिहामुत्र च पातकम्
ye smaranti mamājastraṃ kāpālaṃ veṣamuttamam / teṣāṃ vinaśyati kṣipramihāmutra ca pātakam
جو لوگ مسلسل میرے اعلیٰ کَپالِک (کھوپڑی دھاری) ویش کا سمرن کرتے ہیں، اُن کا گناہ جلد مٹ جاتا ہے—اس جہان میں بھی اور اُس جہان میں بھی۔
Lord Śiva (as the teaching voice within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By presenting the Lord’s form as an object of continuous remembrance whose effect is immediate purification, the verse implies a supreme, liberating reality that responds to inner recollection (smaraṇa) rather than merely external ritual—pointing to an inward, transformative contact with the Divine.
The practice is ajastra-smaraṇa—unbroken devotional recollection—functioning like japa/dhyāna in Pāśupata-oriented discipline: steady mental fixation on the Lord’s form and meaning, leading to rapid pāpa-kṣaya and spiritual fitness in both this life and the next.
Within the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology, salvific power is attributed to Śiva’s form and remembrance in a way that parallels Vaiṣṇava bhakti claims—supporting the Purana’s non-sectarian thrust that the supreme is approached through either Śiva or Viṣṇu without contradiction.