Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 78
Madhu–Kaiṭabha, Nārāyaṇa’s Yoga-Nidrā, Rudra’s Manifestation, and the Aṣṭamūrti–Trimūrti Teaching
ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवा ब्रह्मन् सर्गस्थित्यन्तहेतवः / विभज्यात्मानमेको ऽपि स्वेच्छया शङ्करः स्थितः
brahmaviṣṇuśivā brahman sargasthityantahetavaḥ / vibhajyātmānameko 'pi svecchayā śaṅkaraḥ sthitaḥ
Ô brahmane, Brahmā, Viṣṇu et Śiva sont les causes de la création, du maintien et de la dissolution. Pourtant, le Seigneur—bien qu’un—demeure comme Śaṅkara, se manifestant librement par sa propre volonté en se différenciant lui-même.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita context
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as one Reality that can appear as multiple divine functions—creation, preservation, and dissolution—without losing its essential oneness; the many forms arise by the Lord’s own will.
The verse supports Ishvara-centered contemplation: meditation on the one Lord who manifests as the triad of cosmic functions, a theistic-nondual orientation aligned with the Kurma Purana’s Pashupata-leaning devotion and inner recognition of one Ishvara.
It frames Śiva (Śaṅkara) and Viṣṇu not as competing absolutes but as expressions within a single supreme principle; the Purana’s synthesis treats their powers as unified under one Ishvara.