Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 78
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
प्रपश्यन्ति परात्मानं ज्ञानदीपेन केवलम् / प्रपद्ये भवतो रूपं तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम्
prapaśyanti parātmānaṃ jñānadīpena kevalam / prapadye bhavato rūpaṃ tadviṣṇoḥ paramaṃ padam
Avec la lampe de la connaissance seule, ils contemplent directement le Paramātman, le Soi suprême. Je prends refuge en Ta forme : telle est la demeure la plus haute de Viṣṇu, l’état suprême.
Narrator/Sage (invocatory voice addressing the Supreme Lord identified as Viṣṇu)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It presents the Paramātman as directly knowable through jñāna (true knowledge), not through external aids—seen “with the lamp of knowledge alone.”
The verse emphasizes jñāna-sādhana—inner illumination and discernment leading to direct vision (pratyakṣa-anubhava) of the Supreme; in Kurma Purana’s synthesis this complements devotional surrender (prapatti) rather than opposing it.
By framing the Supreme as realized through knowledge and approached through surrender to the Lord’s form, it supports the Purana’s integrative theology where the one Īśvara is spoken of in sectarian names (here explicitly as Viṣṇu) without denying non-dual supremacy.