Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 5
Īśvara-Gītā (continued): Twofold Yoga, Aṣṭāṅga Discipline, Pāśupata Meditation, and the Unity of Nārāyaṇa–Maheśvara
योगस्तु द्विविधो ज्ञेयो ह्यभावः प्रथमो मतः / अपरस्तु महायोगः सर्वयोगोत्तमोत्तमः
yogastu dvividho jñeyo hyabhāvaḥ prathamo mataḥ / aparastu mahāyogaḥ sarvayogottamottamaḥ
Debe saberse que el yoga es de dos clases. El primero se tiene por «abhāva»: la cesación, la ausencia de las fluctuaciones mentales y del apego a lo mundano. El otro es el Gran Yoga (mahāyoga), el más alto de todos los yogas, supremo entre los supremos.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By defining the highest yoga as mahāyoga beyond ordinary practices, the verse points to realization where the mind’s movements subside (abhāva) and awareness rests in the supreme principle—Atman/Ishvara—as the culmination of all yogas.
It outlines a progression: first, a discipline of cessation (abhāva)—stilling distractions, attachments, and mental fluctuations—then the consummating mahāyoga, understood in the Kurma Purana’s Ishvara Gita as the supreme integration leading to liberation.
While not naming Shiva directly, the Ishvara Gita’s framing of mahāyoga as the supreme path aligns with the Purana’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis: the highest yoga culminates in one Ishvara-tattva revered through both Shaiva (Pashupata) and Vaishnava devotion/knowledge.