Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 17
Rudrakoṭi, Madhuvana, Puṣpanagarī, and Kālañjara — Śveta’s Bhakti and the Subjugation of Kāla
जपन्तमाह राजानं नमन्तमसकृद् भवम् / एह्येहीति पुरः स्थित्वा कृतान्तः प्रहसन्निव
japantamāha rājānaṃ namantamasakṛd bhavam / ehyehīti puraḥ sthitvā kṛtāntaḥ prahasanniva
当国王仍在持诵真言、一次又一次向婆婆（Bhava，湿婆）顶礼时，克利坦塔（Kṛtānta，死亡本身）站在他面前，仿佛带着讥笑说道：“来吧，来吧！”
Kṛtānta (Yama), addressing the king
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
Indirectly, it shows the embodied self facing mortality while taking refuge in mantra-japa and surrender to Īśvara (here invoked as Bhava/Śiva), implying that spiritual refuge is deeper than the body’s fate.
Japa (mantra repetition) combined with namaskāra (repeated prostration/surrender) is foregrounded—core devotional disciplines that align mind and prāṇa toward Īśvara even under the pressure of fear and death.
Though Śiva (Bhava) is explicitly named, the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis frames such devotion as devotion to Īśvara itself—supporting a non-sectarian, unified theism where surrender to the Supreme is central.