Prāyaścitta for Theft, Forbidden Foods, Impurity, and Ritual Lapses; Tīrtha–Vrata Remedies; Pativratā Mahātmyam via Sītā and Agni
गृहीत्वा मायया वेषं चरन्तीं विजने वने / समाहर्तुं मतिं चक्रे तापसः किल कामिनीम्
gṛhītvā māyayā veṣaṃ carantīṃ vijane vane / samāhartuṃ matiṃ cakre tāpasaḥ kila kāminīm
凭借摩耶(māyā)之力,她化作伪装,徘徊于荒寂的林中;而那苦行者——传说如此——心中决意上前,欲接近并夺取那迷人的女子。
Narrator (Purāṇic narration within the Kurma Purana’s story-flow; speaker not explicit in this single verse)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
By highlighting māyā’s power to distort perception and provoke desire, the verse implies that Self-knowledge requires seeing beyond appearances; the Atman is not swayed by such guises, but the untrained mind is.
The verse points to the necessity of indriya-nigraha (sense-restraint) and citta-śuddhi (purification of mind). In the Kurma Purana’s yogic ethic (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline), temptation becomes a test of vairāgya and steadiness in tapas.
Indirectly: the shared Purāṇic teaching is that liberation depends on conquering māyā and kāma through yoga and dharma—principles affirmed across both Shaiva and Vaishnava streams in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis.