Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 91
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
इन्द्रद्युम्न उवाच किं तत् परतरं तत्त्वं का विभूतिर्जनार्दन / किं कार्यं कारणं कस्त्वं प्रवृत्तिश्चापि का तव
indradyumna uvāca kiṃ tat parataraṃ tattvaṃ kā vibhūtirjanārdana / kiṃ kāryaṃ kāraṇaṃ kastvaṃ pravṛttiścāpi kā tava
Indradyumna dit : «Ô Janārdana, quelle est cette Réalité plus haute que tout ? Quelle est Ta vibhūti, Ta manifestation souveraine ? Qu’est-ce que l’effet et qu’est-ce que la cause ? Qui es-Tu en vérité, et quel est aussi Ton élan à agir (pravṛtti) ?»
Indradyumna
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It frames the inquiry into the paratara-tattva—an ultimate Reality beyond ordinary categories—prompting the teaching that the Supreme is the ground of both cause and effect and is to be known as the highest principle.
This verse begins the Ishvara-Gita style inquiry that typically leads into discipline of knowledge and yoga: discerning cause/effect, contemplating the Lord’s vibhuti, and turning the mind from worldly pravṛtti toward inner realization as taught in the Kurma Purana’s yoga-dharma context.
By questioning the supreme tattva, cause, and divine vibhuti addressed to Janārdana, the verse sets up the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where the one Supreme Lord is taught as the ultimate reality honored through both Shaiva and Vaishnava theological language.