Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 14

Iśvara on Māyā, the Unmanifest, and the Viśvarūpa of the One Supreme

यस्मात् परं नापरमस्ति किञ्चित् यज्ज्योतिषां ज्योतिरेकं दिविस्थम् / तदेवात्मानं मन्यमानो ऽथ विद्वान् आत्मानन्दी भवति ब्रह्मभूतः

yasmāt paraṃ nāparamasti kiñcit yajjyotiṣāṃ jyotirekaṃ divistham / tadevātmānaṃ manyamāno 'tha vidvān ātmānandī bhavati brahmabhūtaḥ

Au-delà de Lui, rien de plus haut, rien d’autre : l’unique Lumière de toutes les lumières, demeurant au plus haut des cieux. Le sage, le reconnaissant comme son propre Soi, devient bienheureux dans l’Atman et atteint l’état de Brahman.

yasmātfrom which
yasmāt:
Apādāna (अपादान)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootyad (प्रातिपदिक)
FormRelative adverbial form (यस्-तस् series), used as 'from which/wherefrom' (अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोगवत्)
paramhigher, supreme
param:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootpara (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) (used predicatively: 'higher/supreme')
nanot
na:
Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
FormNegation particle (निषेध)
aparamanother, further
aparam:
Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
TypeAdjective
Rootapara (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
astiexists
asti:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√as (धातु)
FormPresent tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
kiñcitanything
kiñcit:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkiṃcid (प्रातिपदिक)
FormIndefinite pronoun (अनिश्चित-सर्वनाम), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
yatwhich
yat:
Viśeṣya (विशेष्य)
TypeAdjective
Rootyad (प्रातिपदिक)
FormRelative pronoun (यद्), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)
jyotiṣāmof lights
jyotiṣām:
Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
TypeNoun
Rootjyotis (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)
jyotiḥlight
jyotiḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootjyotis (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
ekamone, single
ekam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rooteka (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
divi-sthamsituated in heaven
divi-stham:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootdiv (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) (locative relation: 'situated in heaven'); Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
tatthat
tat:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Roottad (प्रातिपदिक)
FormPronoun (सर्वनाम), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
evaindeed, alone
eva:
Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva (अव्यय)
FormAvyaya (अव्यय), particle of emphasis (अवधारण)
ātmānamthe Self
ātmānam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootātman (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
manyamānaḥthinking/considering
manyamānaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeVerb
Root√man (धातु)
FormPresent participle (शतृ/शानच्), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद) form; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
athathen
atha:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootatha (अव्यय)
FormAvyaya (अव्यय), connective/adverb 'then/and'
vidvānthe wise person
vidvān:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootvidvas (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
ātma-ānandīself-blissful
ātma-ānandī:
Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
TypeAdjective
Rootātman (प्रातिपदिक) + ānandin (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) (genitive relation: 'blissful in/with the Self'); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)
bhavatibecomes
bhavati:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√bhū (धातु)
FormPresent tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
brahma-bhūtaḥbecome Brahman
brahma-bhūtaḥ:
Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (कर्तृ-समानााधिकरण)
TypeAdjective
Rootbrahman (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (कृदन्त, √bhū)
FormTatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita context

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

A
Atman
B
Brahman
J
Jyotis (Supreme Light)

FAQs

It declares the Supreme as the unsurpassed “Light of lights” and teaches that realizing this Supreme Reality as one’s own Atman results in brahma-bhāva—abidance in Brahman.

The verse points to jñāna-yoga: contemplative discernment and steady meditation culminating in Atman-identification with the Supreme Light, yielding ātmānanda (Self-bliss) and Brahman-abidance—an inner core also compatible with Pāśupata-oriented discipline in the Kurma Purana.

Rather than emphasizing sectarian difference, it centers on the one Supreme Reality (Brahman/Atman) as the ultimate “Light,” a non-dual framing that supports the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where the highest truth transcends names and forms.