Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 2

The True Liṅga as Formless Brahman — Self-Luminous Īśa and the Yoga of Liberation

Devanagari script

अव्यक्तं कारणं यत्तदक्षरं परमं पदम् / निर्गुणं शुद्धविज्ञानं तद् वै पश्यन्ति सूरयः

Transliteration

avyaktaṃ kāraṇaṃ yattadakṣaraṃ paramaṃ padam / nirguṇaṃ śuddhavijñānaṃ tad vai paśyanti sūrayaḥ

Translation

जो अव्यक्त कारण-तत्त्व है, वही अक्षर, परम पद है; जो गुणातीत और शुद्ध विज्ञान-स्वरूप है—उसी को ज्ञानी जन वास्तव में देखते हैं।

Word by Word

• avyaktam: unmanifest
• avyaktam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vyakta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √vyaj/व्यज् 'to manifest' + निष्ठा)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; निष्ठा-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) used adjectivally

• kāraṇam: cause
• kāraṇam: Viśeṣya (विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध; relative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक relative pronoun

• tat: that
• tat: Anuvṛtti/Pratyāhāra (अनुवृत्ति; correlative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; तद्-शब्द

• akṣaram: imperishable (Brahman)
• akṣaram: Viśeṣya (विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; विशेषण

• padam: state/abode
• padam: Viśeṣya (विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन

• nirguṇam: without qualities
• nirguṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुष (निर्गुण = गुण-रहित)

• śuddha-vijñānam: pure consciousness/knowledge
• śuddha-vijñānam: Viśeṣya (विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śuddha (प्रातिपदिक) + vijñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन; कर्मधारय (शुद्धं च तत् विज्ञानं)

• tat: that (reality)
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• paśyanti: see
• paśyanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (पश्य्/दृश्-समर्थ; धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• sūrayaḥ: the sages/wise ones
• sūrayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा बहुवचन

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing King Indradyumna (Ishvara Gita context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kurma
• Vishnu
• Sages (Sūrayaḥ)
• Akṣara (Imperishable Brahman)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It defines the Supreme as the unmanifest causal ground (kāraṇa), imperishable (akṣara), and beyond the guṇas (nirguṇa), known not as an external object but as pure consciousness (śuddha-vijñāna) realized directly by the wise.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse points to contemplative realization: withdrawing from sense-objects to discern the avyakta (unmanifest) and stabilizing awareness in śuddha-vijñāna (pure knowing). In the Ishvara Gita’s Pāśupata-oriented frame, this aligns with inner purification and samādhi-like seeing (paśyanti) rather than mere ritual or debate.

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

By emphasizing the one nirguṇa, akṣara Reality as the supreme goal, it supports the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: the highest truth taught by Lord Kurma is the same transcendent principle revered in Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava paths.