Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 13
Iśvara on Māyā, the Unmanifest, and the Viśvarūpa of the One Supreme
वेदाहमेतं पुरुषं महान्त- मादित्यवर्णं तमसः परस्तात् / तद् विज्ञाय परिमुच्येत विद्वान् नित्यानन्दी भवति ब्रह्मभूतः
vedāhametaṃ puruṣaṃ mahānta- mādityavarṇaṃ tamasaḥ parastāt / tad vijñāya parimucyeta vidvān nityānandī bhavati brahmabhūtaḥ
«إني أعرف ذلك البوروشا الأعظم، المتلألئ كالشمس، المتجاوز لظلمة الجهل. فإذا تحقّقه العارف تحرّر تحرّرًا تامًّا؛ وبكونه براهمنًا يقيم في نعيمٍ أبدي».
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita discourse
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as the Mahān Puruṣa—self-luminous like the sun and beyond tamas (ignorance). Realizing this Reality culminates in brahma-bhāva (abidance as Brahman), indicating a non-dual, transcendent Self.
The verse foregrounds vijñāna (direct realization) as the liberating means—classical Jñāna-Yoga supported by disciplined contemplation. In the Kurma Purana’s Pāśupata-leaning frame, such knowledge is stabilized through inner purification, devotion to Īśvara, and sustained meditative inquiry into the Supreme beyond darkness.
By emphasizing one Supreme Puruṣa/Brahman realized through Īśvara-knowledge, the verse aligns with the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology: sectarian forms may differ, but liberation is grounded in realizing the single transcendent Lord—supporting a Shaiva–Vaishnava non-contradiction in the Ishvara Gita.