Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 46
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
सर्वेषामेव भूतानां देवानामप्यगोचरम् / वक्तव्यं यद् गुह्यतमं दास्ये ज्ञानं तवानघ / लब्ध्वा तन्मामकं ज्ञानं मामेवान्ते प्रवेक्ष्यसि
sarveṣāmeva bhūtānāṃ devānāmapyagocaram / vaktavyaṃ yad guhyatamaṃ dāsye jñānaṃ tavānagha / labdhvā tanmāmakaṃ jñānaṃ māmevānte pravekṣyasi
That which lies beyond the reach of all beings—even of the gods—I shall declare to you, O sinless one: the most secret teaching. Having obtained that knowledge which is Mine, you will, in the end, enter into Me alone.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu), as Ishvara, instructing King Indradyumna (Ishvara Gita context)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as transcending even the gods’ reach, and teaches that realizing the Lord’s own (divine) knowledge culminates in final union—“entering into Me”—a classic liberation (moksha) formulation in the Ishvara Gita.
The verse points to esoteric, initiatory knowledge (guhyatama jñāna) as the core of liberation; in the Kurma Purana’s Ishvara Gita setting this aligns with Pashupata-oriented discipline—inner purification, focused contemplation on Ishvara, and steady devotion culminating in absorption in the Lord.
By framing liberation as entry into the one Ishvara who grants the highest secret knowledge, it supports the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: the Supreme Lord (spoken here as Kurma/Vishnu) is the same ultimate reality revered in Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms.