Shloka 142
Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
कूर्मो मत्स्यस्तथा शड्ख: प्रवालाड्कुरभूषण:
kūrmo matsyas tathā śaṅkhaḥ pravālāṅkurabhūṣaṇaḥ | kūrma-matsya-śaṅkha-naye-naye pallavānāṃ aṅkuraiḥ suśobhita-vasantādika-rūpeṣu api te eva prakaṭībhavanti | te mahādevaḥ yakṣa-rākṣasa-sarpa-daitya-dānava-pātālavāsināṃ api rūpaṃ dhārayanti |
婆苏提婆说道：“他显现为龟、为鱼、为海螺——如珊瑚新芽般点缀其身。诚然，在不断更新的形相之中——如自春季始的诸时令，以新抽嫩芽而增其妍——唯有他在显现。那同一位大自在天亦取夜叉、罗刹、蛇类、代底耶、达那婆，以及居于地下界（波多罗）诸众生之形。”
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the all-pervasiveness of the Supreme: the same divinity manifests as auspicious symbols (like the conch), cosmic/avatāra-like forms (tortoise, fish), natural cycles (spring and other seasons), and even as the various classes of beings across the cosmos. Ethically, it supports a vision of reverence and restraint—recognizing one underlying reality behind diverse appearances.
Vāsudeva is describing the Lord’s manifold manifestations. He lists emblematic forms (Kūrma, Matsya, Śaṅkha), then expands the scope to nature’s recurring renewal (the seasons with fresh sprouts), and finally to cosmological beings—Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, serpents, Daityas, Dānavas, and inhabitants of Pātāla—showing that the divine presence extends through all realms and categories of existence.