Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 14
The True Liṅga as Formless Brahman — Self-Luminous Īśa and the Yoga of Liberation
नित्योदितं संविदा निर्विकल्पं शुद्धं बृहन्तं परमं यद्विभाति / अत्रान्तरं ब्रह्मविदो ऽथ नित्यं पश्यन्ति तत्त्वमचलं यत् स ईशः
nityoditaṃ saṃvidā nirvikalpaṃ śuddhaṃ bṛhantaṃ paramaṃ yadvibhāti / atrāntaraṃ brahmavido 'tha nityaṃ paśyanti tattvamacalaṃ yat sa īśaḥ
That Supreme Reality ever shines—self-luminous as pure Consciousness—free from all conceptual distinctions, stainless, vast, and highest. Within this very inner space, the knowers of Brahman continually behold the unmoving Truth: that indeed is Īśa, the Lord.
Lord Kūrma (as Īśvara) instructing King Indradyumna within the Īśvara-gītā teaching sequence
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It defines the Supreme as self-luminous Consciousness—pure, vast, and nirvikalpa (beyond conceptual divisions)—realized inwardly as the immutable Truth, identified here as Īśa.
The verse points to inward contemplation (antar-darśana): turning awareness to the inner locus of consciousness and abiding in a non-conceptual (nirvikalpa) recognition of the ever-shining Reality—an essential meditative aim aligned with Pāśupata-oriented Īśvara-gītā instruction.
By naming the realized, immutable Brahman as Īśa, it supports the Purāṇic synthesis where the Supreme Lordhood is one Reality—honored through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava language—accessible through direct inner realization rather than sectarian separation.