Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 1
Īśvara-gītā: Vibhūtis of the Supreme Lord and the Paśu–Paśupati Doctrine of Bondage and Release
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे (ईश्वरगीतासु) षष्ठो ऽध्यायः ईश्वर उवाच शृणुध्वमृषयः सर्वे प्रभावं परमेष्ठिनः / यं ज्ञात्वा पुरुषो मुक्तो न संसारे पतेत् पुनः
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge (īśvaragītāsu) ṣaṣṭho 'dhyāyaḥ īśvara uvāca śṛṇudhvamṛṣayaḥ sarve prabhāvaṃ parameṣṭhinaḥ / yaṃ jñātvā puruṣo mukto na saṃsāre patet punaḥ
Thus, in the Śrī Kūrma Purāṇa, in the six-thousand-verse compendium, in the latter division—within the Īśvara-gītā—begins the sixth chapter. The Lord said: “Listen, all you sages, to the majesty of Parameṣṭhin. Knowing Him, a person becomes liberated and does not fall again into worldly existence.”
Īśvara (as taught in the Īśvara-gītā; traditionally voiced by Lord Kūrma as the Supreme Teacher)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme (Parameṣṭhin/Īśvara) as the decisive object of liberating knowledge: realizing Him is sufficient to secure mokṣa and end return to saṃsāra, implying an ultimate reality whose knowledge is transformative rather than merely informational.
The verse foregrounds jñāna (spiritual realization) as the liberating means; within the Īśvara-gītā’s broader frame, this aligns with Pāśupata-oriented discipline where devotion and yogic restraint culminate in direct knowledge of Īśvara that prevents relapse into worldly bondage.
By naming the liberating absolute as Īśvara/Parameṣṭhin within the Kurma Purana’s Īśvara-gītā, it supports the text’s synthetic theology: the Supreme Lord taught by Kūrma (a Viṣṇu form) is also Īśvara in Shaiva idiom, emphasizing one liberating divinity beyond sectarian division.