Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 21
Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī
अयं स भगवानीशः स्वयञ्ज्योतिः सनातनः / स्वानन्दभूता कथिता देवी नागन्तुका शिवा
ayaṃ sa bhagavānīśaḥ svayañjyotiḥ sanātanaḥ / svānandabhūtā kathitā devī nāgantukā śivā
إنه هو بعينه الربُّ المبارك، إيشا—نورٌ قائمٌ بذاته وأزليّ. وإلهتُه (ديفي) مُعلَنةٌ أنها من طبيعة نعيمه هو—شيفا (Śivā) الدائمةُ اليُمن، لا شيئًا طارئًا ولا مُضافًا من خارج.
Lord Kurma (as the teacher of the Ishvara Gita-style doctrine in the Kurma Purana)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as svayaṁjyoti—self-revealing, eternal consciousness that needs no external illumination; divinity is intrinsic, not dependent on anything adventitious.
The verse supports contemplative absorption (dhyāna/samādhi) on Īśvara as self-luminous reality, and on Śakti as inseparable from that consciousness—an inner orientation consistent with Pāśupata-style devotion and disciplined meditation.
By using Īśa and Śivā in a teaching voiced by Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu), it frames auspicious Śiva-principle and Viṣṇu’s lordship as one integrated theistic reality, with Śakti inseparable from the Supreme.