Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 66
Īśvara-Gītā (continued): Twofold Yoga, Aṣṭāṅga Discipline, Pāśupata Meditation, and the Unity of Nārāyaṇa–Maheśvara
मदात्मा मन्मयो भस्म गृहीत्वा ह्यग्निहोत्रजम् / तेनोद्धृत्य तु सर्वाङ्गमग्निरित्यादिमन्त्रतः / चिन्तयेत् स्वात्मनीशानं परं ज्योतिः स्वरूपिणम्
madātmā manmayo bhasma gṛhītvā hyagnihotrajam / tenoddhṛtya tu sarvāṅgamagnirityādimantrataḥ / cintayet svātmanīśānaṃ paraṃ jyotiḥ svarūpiṇam
Knowing, “I am His Self; I am pervaded by Him,” one should take the ash produced from the Agnihotra, lift it up and smear it over the whole body while reciting the mantras beginning with “Agni…”. Then, within one’s own Self, one should contemplate Īśāna, the Lord, as the Supreme Light whose very nature is pure radiance.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching the Ishvara Gita in a Shaiva-Pashupata idiom
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It frames realization as identity and permeation: the practitioner internalizes “I am of Him; I am made of Him,” and then meditates on Īśāna within the self as the Supreme Light—indicating the Lord as the inner Self and luminous consciousness.
It prescribes Pāśupata-style bhasma-dhāraṇa using Agnihotra ash, mantra-recitation (mantras beginning with “Agni…”), and inward contemplation (dhyāna) of the Lord as param-jyotis—ritual purity joined to non-dual meditation.
Though spoken by Lord Kūrma (Vishnu), the object of meditation is Īśāna (a Shaiva name of the Supreme), presenting a synthesis where the one Supreme is approached through Shaiva mantra and symbolism without contradicting Vaishnava authority.