Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 1
The True Liṅga as Formless Brahman — Self-Luminous Īśa and the Yoga of Liberation
इति श्रीकूर्मपाराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे (ईश्वरगीतासु) नवमो ऽध्यायः ईश्वर उवाच अलिङ्गमेकमव्यक्तं लिङ्गं ब्रह्मेति निश्चितम् / स्वयञ्ज्योतिः परं तत्त्वं परे व्योम्नि व्यवस्थितम्
iti śrīkūrmapārāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge (īśvaragītāsu) navamo 'dhyāyaḥ īśvara uvāca aliṅgamekamavyaktaṃ liṅgaṃ brahmeti niścitam / svayañjyotiḥ paraṃ tattvaṃ pare vyomni vyavasthitam
In the Śrī Kūrma Purāṇa, in the six-thousand-verse compendium, in the latter division, within the Īśvara-gītā: (thus ends) the ninth chapter. The Lord said: “The One, formless and unmanifest—this alone is the true liṅga; it is decisively known as Brahman. Self-luminous, it is the Supreme Reality, established in the highest expanse (of pure consciousness).”
Īśvara (Lord Kūrma/Vishnu speaking in the Īśvara-gītā)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It identifies the Supreme as one, formless, unmanifest, and self-luminous—Brahman itself—indicating that the highest Self is beyond external marks and is known as pure, limitless reality.
The verse frames meditation toward the nirliṅga (formless) Brahman—supporting inner contemplations used in Pāśupata-oriented discipline where the seeker transcends external symbols and rests awareness in the self-luminous Supreme.
By redefining “liṅga” as the formless Brahman (not merely a sectarian emblem), it presents a non-dual theological ground where Shaiva language and Vaishnava revelation converge in the single Supreme Reality.