Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī
उक्त्वैवं प्राहिणोत् कन्यां ब्रह्महत्यामिति श्रुताम् / दंष्ट्राकरालवदनां ज्वालामालाविभूषणाम्
uktvaivaṃ prāhiṇot kanyāṃ brahmahatyāmiti śrutām / daṃṣṭrākarālavadanāṃ jvālāmālāvibhūṣaṇām
如是言已,他遣出一位少女,名闻为“梵杀罪”(Brahmahatyā),獠牙外露、面相可怖,并以火焰之鬘为饰。
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing the event within the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhāga narrative frame)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Indirectly: by portraying Brahmahatyā as an externalized force of karma, the verse implies the Atman remains untouched while embodied beings face the consequences of adharma through manifest results (phala) in the world.
No specific yogic technique is stated in this verse; its emphasis is ethical and karmic—setting the ground for purification disciplines (niyama, prāyaścitta, and devotion) that Purāṇas connect with inner clarity necessary for yoga.
While Shiva–Vishnu unity is not explicit here, the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis frames such karmic governance and purification as operating under the single divine order (Īśvara-dharma) revered through both Shaiva and Vaishnava lenses.