Shloka 36

Īśvara-gītā (Adhyāya 2) — Ātma-svarūpa, Māyā, and the Unity of Sāṅkhya–Yoga

Devanagari script

यदा जन्मजरादुः खव्याधीनामेकभेषजम् / केवलं ब्रह्मविज्ञानं जायते ऽसौ तदा शिवः

Transliteration

yadā janmajarāduḥ khavyādhīnāmekabheṣajam / kevalaṃ brahmavijñānaṃ jāyate 'sau tadā śivaḥ

Translation

Lorsque s’éveille en soi la pure connaissance de Brahman —l’unique remède aux souffrances de la naissance, de la vieillesse et de la maladie—, alors cette personne devient véritablement Śiva : l’Auspicious, le libéré.

Word by Word

• यदा: when
• यदा: सम्बन्ध/कालाधिकरण (kāla-adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय: 'when'

• जन्मजरादुःखव्याधीनाम्: of birth, old age, sorrow, and disease
• जन्मजरादुःखव्याधीनाम्: सम्बन्ध (ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janma-jarā-duḥkha-vyādhi (जन्मजरादुःखव्याधि) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहार-द्वन्द्व (collective dvandva) of janma+jarā+duḥkha+vyādhi; षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन (gen. pl.): 'of birth, old age, suffering, and disease'

• एकभेषजम्: the one remedy
• एकभेषजम्: विधेय/विशेष्य (predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka-bheṣaja (एकभेषज) = eka (एक) + bheṣaja (भेषज) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'single remedy'

• केवलम्: only
• केवलम्: विशेषण (viśeṣaṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kevala (केवल) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (neut. sg.)

• ब्रह्मविज्ञानम्: knowledge of Brahman
• ब्रह्मविज्ञानम्: कर्ता (karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma-vijñāna (ब्रह्मविज्ञान) = brahman (ब्रह्मन्) + vijñāna (विज्ञान) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (nom. sg.)

• जायते: arises
• जायते: क्रिया (kriyā)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन्) (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd sg.); 'is born/arises'

• असौ: he
• असौ: कर्ता (karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (अदस्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (nom. sg.)

• तदा: then
• तदा: सम्बन्ध/कालाधिकरण (kāla-adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय: 'then'

• शिवः: auspicious/liberated
• शिवः: विधेय (predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śiva (शिव) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (masc. nom. sg.): 'auspicious/beneficent'

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Characters & Entities

• Brahman
• Shiva

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

It identifies realized Brahman-knowledge (brahma-vijñāna) as the decisive inner awakening that ends the existential afflictions tied to embodied identity, implying the Self is Brahman and liberation is knowledge-born.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse foregrounds jñāna as the culminating fruit of disciplined Yoga—especially the Pāśupata-oriented path where purification, detachment, and contemplation mature into direct Brahman-realization, the “single medicine” for saṃsāric suffering.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

With Vishnu (as Lord Kurma) teaching that Brahman-realization makes one “Śiva,” the text uses Śiva as a state of auspicious liberation, reflecting Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where the Supreme is one and its realization is termed Śiva-hood.