Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 75
Īśvara-Gītā (continued): Twofold Yoga, Aṣṭāṅga Discipline, Pāśupata Meditation, and the Unity of Nārāyaṇa–Maheśvara
अद्वेष्टा सर्वभूतानां मैत्रः करुण एव च / निर्ममो निरहङ्कारो यो मद्भक्तः स मे प्रियः
adveṣṭā sarvabhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca / nirmamo nirahaṅkāro yo madbhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
مَن لا يحمل بغضًا لأيّ كائن، ويكون ودودًا رحيمًا؛ متحرّرًا من التملّك ومن الأنا—فذلك العابدُ المخلصُ لي هو حبيبٌ إليّ.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching the Ishvara Gita to King Indradyumna (through the sage-dialogue frame of the Kurma Purana)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
By defining the dear devotee as free from hatred, possessiveness, and ego, the verse points to Atman-realization as the dissolution of ‘I’ and ‘mine’—a state where one’s identity aligns with the non-sectarian, all-pervading Lord who indwells all beings.
It emphasizes inner disciplines central to the Kurma Purana’s Ishvara Gita and Pashupata-oriented ethics: cultivating maitri (friendliness) and karuṇā (compassion), and practicing vairāgya-like release of ahaṅkāra (ego) and mamakāra (possessiveness)—foundational supports for dhyāna (meditation) and steady bhakti.
Though Vishnu (as Lord Kurma) speaks, the ideal described is universally yogic and theistic—non-hatred, compassion, and egolessness—mirroring the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis where devotion to the Supreme is validated by inner transformation rather than sectarian identity.