Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 152
Dakṣa’s Progeny, Nṛsiṃha–Varāha Avatāras, and Andhaka’s Defeat
Hari–Hara–Śakti Synthesis
अहं नारायणो गौरी जगन्माता सनातनी / विभज्य संस्थितो देवः स्वात्मानं बहुधेश्वरः
ahaṃ nārāyaṇo gaurī jaganmātā sanātanī / vibhajya saṃsthito devaḥ svātmānaṃ bahudheśvaraḥ
I am Nārāyaṇa; I am also Gaurī, the eternal Mother of the universe. The one Lord, dividing His own Self, abides in manifold forms as the single Sovereign.
Lord Kurma (as the Supreme Lord teaching non-dual theism)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as one Self (svātman) who remains a single Īśvara while manifesting in many divine identities, implying unity behind apparent plurality.
The verse supports īśvara-dhyāna: meditation on the one Lord as the inner Self of all forms, a key contemplative basis for Purāṇic yoga and later Pāśupata-oriented devotion and discipline.
By identifying the one speaker with Nārāyaṇa and also with Gaurī (Śiva’s śakti), it conveys a non-sectarian, integrative theology where the same Supreme reality appears as Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva-Shākta forms.