Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 51
Dakṣa-yajña-bhaṅgaḥ — Dadhīci’s Teaching and the Destruction of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice
अथ चेत् कस्यचिदियमाज्ञा मुनिसुरोत्तमाः / भागो भवद्भ्यो देयस्तु नास्मभ्यमिति कथ्यताम् / तं ब्रूताज्ञापयति यो वेत्स्यामो हि वयं ततः
atha cet kasyacidiyamājñā munisurottamāḥ / bhāgo bhavadbhyo deyastu nāsmabhyamiti kathyatām / taṃ brūtājñāpayati yo vetsyāmo hi vayaṃ tataḥ
“Nay, hỡi bậc tối thượng giữa các hiền triết và chư thiên, nếu quả thật đây là mệnh lệnh của ai đó—rằng: ‘Phần lễ phải trao cho các vị, chứ không trao cho chúng ta’—thì xin nói cho biết ai là đấng ban lệnh ấy. Khi biết rõ thẩm quyền đó, chúng ta sẽ tùy thuận mà hành.”
Participants in a dispute over sacrificial entitlement (addressing the sages); contextual speaker attribution: the party asking for the higher authority behind the injunction
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It does not directly define Ātman; instead, it stresses obedience to a higher, rightful authority (ājñā). In the Kurma Purana’s broader theological frame, true authority ultimately aligns with Īśvara-dharma rather than personal claim.
No explicit yogic technique is taught in this verse. Indirectly, it reflects the discipline of restraint and right inquiry—seeking legitimate injunction (ājñā) before acting—an ethical foundation that supports later Yogic instruction in the text’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis.
The verse itself is about ritual entitlement and authority, not a direct Shiva–Vishnu statement. Yet its emphasis on a single binding command fits the Kurma Purana’s wider tendency to ground diverse practices in a unifying supreme order associated with Īśvara.