Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 40
Viṣṇu at Upamanyu’s Āśrama: Pāśupata Tapas, Darśana of Śiva, and Boons from Devī
इहैव देवताः पूर्वं कालाद् भीता महेश्वरम् / दृष्टवन्तो हरं श्रीमन्निर्भया निर्वृतिं ययुः
ihaiva devatāḥ pūrvaṃ kālād bhītā maheśvaram / dṛṣṭavanto haraṃ śrīmannirbhayā nirvṛtiṃ yayuḥ
就在此处，往昔诸天因惧怕迦罗（Kāla，时间）而来，得见大自在天摩诃提婆——哈罗（Hara）；见到祂，尊贵者啊，他们便无所畏惧，获得安宁与深深的慰藉。
Narrator (Purāṇic discourse voice, describing events to a revered listener)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
By portraying even the gods as afraid of Kāla (Time) yet becoming fearless upon beholding Maheśvara, the verse implies a reality beyond time and fear—approached through direct vision (darśana) of the Lord, who embodies the timeless ground of security.
The verse emphasizes darśana and śaraṇāgati (turning toward the Lord) as transformative: fear dissolves when consciousness is oriented to Īśvara. In Kurma Purana’s broader yogic frame (including Pāśupata-leaning devotion and discipline), this aligns with steady remembrance and contemplative turning toward the divine presence as the antidote to anxiety and impermanence.
While explicitly praising Hara (Śiva) as the refuge from Kāla, it fits the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology where supreme protection is expressed through either form of Īśvara; sectarian difference is secondary to the shared function of the Supreme as liberator from fear and time.