Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16
Varnāśrama-Krama, Vairāgya as the Ground of Saṃnyāsa, and Brahmārpaṇa Karma-yoga
नाहं कर्ता सर्वमेतद् ब्रह्मैव कुरुते तथा / एतद् ब्रह्मार्पणं प्रोक्तमृषिभिः तत्त्वदर्शिभिः
nāhaṃ kartā sarvametad brahmaiva kurute tathā / etad brahmārpaṇaṃ proktamṛṣibhiḥ tattvadarśibhiḥ
“હું કર્તા નથી; આ બધું બ્રહ્મ જ યથાવત્ કરે છે”—આ રીતે તત્ત્વદર્શી ઋષિઓએ ‘બ્રહ્માર્પણ’ ઉપદેશ્યું છે.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the listener(s) in a non-dual, devotion-integrated discipline of action
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It asserts akartṛtva: the true Self is not an individual doer; all activity is ultimately grounded in Brahman, so realization shifts identity from ego-agency to the Absolute.
It points to Karma-Yoga framed as brahmārpaṇa—performing duties while relinquishing doership and offering actions (and their fruits) to Brahman, a practical contemplative discipline aligned with Purāṇic yoga.
By centering Brahman as the sole ultimate agent, it supports the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: Shiva and Vishnu are approached as expressions of the one Supreme Reality, making devotion compatible with non-dual insight.