Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 161
Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga
एको देवः सर्वभूतेषु गूढो मायी रुद्रः सकलो निष्कलश्च / स एव देवी न च तद्विभिन्न- मेतज्ज्ञात्वा ह्यमृतत्वं व्रजन्ति
eko devaḥ sarvabhūteṣu gūḍho māyī rudraḥ sakalo niṣkalaśca / sa eva devī na ca tadvibhinna- metajjñātvā hyamṛtatvaṃ vrajanti
One God alone—hidden within all beings—is Rudra, wielder of māyā, both with attributes and beyond attributes. He Himself is the Goddess (Śakti) and is not different from Her. Knowing this truth, indeed, people attain immortality.
Lord Kūrma (as instructor in the Ishvara-gītā tradition)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as the one indwelling Lord hidden in all beings—simultaneously manifest (sakala) and transcendent (niṣkala). Realizing this non-dual indweller is equated with attaining amṛtatva (liberation).
The verse points to jñāna-yoga within a Pāśupata framework: inward contemplation of the indwelling Rudra as the one reality in all beings, culminating in direct knowledge (jñāna) that dissolves duality and grants immortality.
Within the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, the teaching voiced by Lord Kūrma affirms a non-dual Ishvara: Rudra as the supreme indweller, inseparable from Devī (Śakti). This supports the Purāṇic stance that sectarian names differ while the Supreme reality is one.