Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 42
Rudra’s Cosmic Dance and the Recognition of Rudra–Nārāyaṇa Unity (Īśvara-gītā Continuation)
ततः स भगवान् देवः कपर्दी वृषवाहनः / संहृत्य परमं रूपं प्रकृतिस्थो ऽभवद् भवः
tataḥ sa bhagavān devaḥ kapardī vṛṣavāhanaḥ / saṃhṛtya paramaṃ rūpaṃ prakṛtistho 'bhavad bhavaḥ
پھر وہ بھگوان دیو—کپردی، ورِشواہن—اپنا پرم (اعلیٰ) روپ سمیٹ کر پرکرتی میں قائم ہو گیا؛ یوں بھَو (شیو) اپنی فطری، باطنی طور پر ہمہ گیر حالت میں ٹھہرا رہا۔
Purāṇic narrator (Vyāsa/Śaunaka-style narration) describing Rudra’s state after withdrawing the supreme form
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It distinguishes the Lord’s “supreme form” (para-rūpa—transcendent sovereignty beyond manifestation) from His immanent mode within Prakṛti, implying a single Supreme who can appear as transcendent Purusha and also as the indwelling ruler of nature without losing divinity.
The verse supports a yogic contemplation central to Purāṇic Yoga: meditate on Īśvara as both nirguṇa/para (withdrawn beyond forms) and saguṇa/immanent (present in Prakṛti), a key framework used by Pāśupata-leaning devotion and inner absorption (saṃhāra) teachings in the Kūrma tradition.
By presenting Bhava/Śiva as the supreme Lord who can manifest and withdraw forms while remaining the inner controller of Prakṛti, the Kūrma Purāṇa advances a synthetic theism where sectarian names differ but the same Īśvara-function (creation–maintenance–reabsorption) is affirmed—harmonizing Shaiva and Vaiṣṇava viewpoints.