Shloka 36

Īśvara-gītā (Adhyāya 2) — Ātma-svarūpa, Māyā, and the Unity of Sāṅkhya–Yoga

Devanagari script

यदा जन्मजरादुः खव्याधीनामेकभेषजम् / केवलं ब्रह्मविज्ञानं जायते ऽसौ तदा शिवः

Transliteration

yadā janmajarāduḥ khavyādhīnāmekabheṣajam / kevalaṃ brahmavijñānaṃ jāyate 'sau tadā śivaḥ

Translation

Wenn das reine Wissen um Brahman — das einzige Heilmittel gegen das Leid von Geburt, Alter und Krankheit — in einem aufsteigt, dann wird dieser Mensch wahrhaft Śiva: der Heilsame, der Befreite.

Word by Word

• यदा: when
• यदा: सम्बन्ध/कालाधिकरण (kāla-adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय: 'when'

• जन्मजरादुःखव्याधीनाम्: of birth, old age, sorrow, and disease
• जन्मजरादुःखव्याधीनाम्: सम्बन्ध (ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janma-jarā-duḥkha-vyādhi (जन्मजरादुःखव्याधि) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहार-द्वन्द्व (collective dvandva) of janma+jarā+duḥkha+vyādhi; षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन (gen. pl.): 'of birth, old age, suffering, and disease'

• एकभेषजम्: the one remedy
• एकभेषजम्: विधेय/विशेष्य (predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka-bheṣaja (एकभेषज) = eka (एक) + bheṣaja (भेषज) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'single remedy'

• केवलम्: only
• केवलम्: विशेषण (viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kevala (केवल) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neut. sg.)

• ब्रह्मविज्ञानम्: knowledge of Brahman
• ब्रह्मविज्ञानम्: कर्ता (karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma-vijñāna (ब्रह्मविज्ञान) = brahman (ब्रह्मन्) + vijñāna (विज्ञान) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (nom. sg.)

• जायते: arises
• जायते: क्रिया (kriyā)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन्) (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd sg.); 'is born/arises'

• असौ: he
• असौ: कर्ता (karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (अदस्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (nom. sg.)

• तदा: then
• तदा: सम्बन्ध/कालाधिकरण (kāla-adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय: 'then'

• शिवः: auspicious/liberated
• शिवः: विधेय (predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (शिव) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (masc. nom. sg.): 'auspicious/beneficent'

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Characters & Entities

• Brahman
• Shiva

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

It identifies realized Brahman-knowledge (brahma-vijñāna) as the decisive inner awakening that ends the existential afflictions tied to embodied identity, implying the Self is Brahman and liberation is knowledge-born.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse foregrounds jñāna as the culminating fruit of disciplined Yoga—especially the Pāśupata-oriented path where purification, detachment, and contemplation mature into direct Brahman-realization, the “single medicine” for saṃsāric suffering.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

With Vishnu (as Lord Kurma) teaching that Brahman-realization makes one “Śiva,” the text uses Śiva as a state of auspicious liberation, reflecting Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where the Supreme is one and its realization is termed Śiva-hood.