Shloka 4
Īśvara-gītā: Bhakti as the Supreme Means; the Three Śaktis; Non-compelled Lordship
यस्यान्तरा सर्वमिदं यो हि सर्वान्तरः परः / सो ऽहन्धाता विधाता च कालो ऽग्निर्विश्वतोमुखः
yasyāntarā sarvamidaṃ yo hi sarvāntaraḥ paraḥ / so 'handhātā vidhātā ca kālo 'gnirviśvatomukhaḥ
Der, in dem dieses ganze Universum ruht—der Höchste, der als innerer Lenker in allen wohnt—Er allein ist der Begründer und der Ordner. Er ist die Zeit selbst und das kosmische Feuer (Agni), dessen Antlitz in alle Richtungen schaut.
Suta (narrator) describing the Supreme Lord taught in the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga theological frame
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as the Antaryamin—transcendent yet dwelling within all beings and all phenomena—so the ultimate reality is both inner to everything and beyond everything.
The verse supports Antaryamin-upasana: meditation on the Lord as the indwelling witness and controller, and contemplation of Time (kāla) and Fire (agni) as divine, transformative powers pervading the cosmos—key contemplations aligned with Pashupata-oriented theism in the Kurma tradition.
By describing the one Supreme as Time and cosmic Fire and as the Inner Ruler of all, it frames divinity as a single all-pervading reality that can be approached through Shaiva or Vaishnava idioms without contradiction—supporting the Purana’s synthesis.