Shloka 1
Īśvara-gītā: The Supreme Lord as Brahman, the Source of Creation, and the Inner Self
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे (ईश्वरगीतासु) सप्तमो ऽध्यायः ईश्वर उवाच अन्यद् गुह्यतमं ज्ञानं वक्ष्ये ब्राह्मणपुङ्गवाः / येनासौ तरते जन्तुर्घोरं संसारसागरम्
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge (īśvaragītāsu) saptamo 'dhyāyaḥ īśvara uvāca anyad guhyatamaṃ jñānaṃ vakṣye brāhmaṇapuṅgavāḥ / yenāsau tarate janturghoraṃ saṃsārasāgaram
Ainsi, dans le Śrī Kūrma Purāṇa, dans la compilation de six mille vers, dans la section ultérieure—au sein de l’Īśvara-gītā—s’achève le septième chapitre. Īśvara dit : « Ô vous, les plus éminents parmi les brāhmaṇas, je vais maintenant exposer un autre enseignement, le plus secret, par lequel l’être incarné traverse l’effrayant océan du saṃsāra. »
Īśvara (as the divine teacher in the Īśvara-gītā, identified in the Kūrma Purāṇa’s synthesis as the Supreme Lord honored by both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava frames)
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It frames liberation as arising from “guhyatama jñāna” taught by Īśvara—implying that the saving insight is not merely ritual skill but direct, inner knowledge that enables transcendence of saṃsāra.
The verse functions as a preface: Īśvara announces an esoteric liberating teaching, which in the Īśvara-gītā context is aligned with Pāśupata-oriented discipline—inner purification, devotion, and contemplative knowledge aimed at crossing saṃsāra.
By presenting Īśvara as the supreme instructor within the Kūrma Purāṇa’s Īśvara-gītā, it supports a non-sectarian synthesis where the liberating Lord can be revered through Śaiva or Vaiṣṇava theology without contradiction.