Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 17
Īśvara-gītā: The Supreme Lord as Brahman, the Source of Creation, and the Inner Self
तमेवैकं प्राहुरन्ये ऽप्यनेकं त्वेकात्मानं केचिदन्यत्तथाहुः / अणोरणीयान् महतो ऽसौ महीयान् महादेवः प्रोच्यते वेदविद्भिः
tamevaikaṃ prāhuranye 'pyanekaṃ tvekātmānaṃ kecidanyattathāhuḥ / aṇoraṇīyān mahato 'sau mahīyān mahādevaḥ procyate vedavidbhiḥ
Manche verkünden ihn als den Einen; andere wiederum sprechen von ihm als vielen. Einige nennen ihn das eine Selbst aller, andere beschreiben ihn als verschieden. Kleiner als das Kleinste und größer als das Größte—so nennen ihn die Kenner der Veden: Mahādeva.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita section
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as simultaneously describable as One, many, the single Self of all, and even as distinct—showing that the Ultimate transcends limited viewpoints while remaining the innermost Self and the all-pervading Reality.
The verse supports contemplative Yoga that stabilizes the mind on the all-pervading Īśvara—meditating on Him as subtler than the subtle and greater than the great—an Ishvara-centered approach aligned with Pāśupata devotion and Vedāntic inquiry.
Spoken in the Ishvara Gita setting, it culminates by naming the Supreme as Mahādeva, reflecting the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where the highest Īśvara is affirmed beyond sectarian separation.