Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 17
Genealogies of Kaśyapa and Pulastya; Rise of Brahmavādin Lines and Rākṣasa Branches
भृगोरप्यभवच्छुक्रो दैत्याचार्यो महातपाः / स्वाध्याययोगनिरतो हरभक्तो महाद्युतिः
bhṛgorapyabhavacchukro daityācāryo mahātapāḥ / svādhyāyayoganirato harabhakto mahādyutiḥ
婆利古（Bhṛgu）亦生出舒克罗（Śukra）——代提耶族之师（ācārya）——大苦行者，具深厚苦行力；恒常勤修自诵圣典与瑜伽律仪；虔敬哈罗（Hara，湿婆Śiva），并具广大灵光。
Sūta (narrator) recounting the Purāṇic lineage to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By praising Śukra’s tapas, svādhyāya, and yoga, the verse implies that inner realization is approached through disciplined practice and scriptural contemplation—methods traditionally aimed at direct knowledge of the Self beyond mere lineage or status.
The verse explicitly highlights svādhyāya (scriptural recitation and reflective study) and yoga (steadfast meditative discipline). Together they indicate a classical purāṇic path: study that purifies understanding and yoga that stabilizes the mind toward samādhi-like absorption.
Even within the Kurma Purana’s Vaiṣṇava frame, Śukra is lauded as a devotee of Hara (Śiva), reflecting the text’s integrative theology where devotion to Śiva is honored as a valid and luminous spiritual orientation rather than a sectarian contradiction.