Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 22
Īśvara-gītā (Adhyāya 2) — Ātma-svarūpa, Māyā, and the Unity of Sāṅkhya–Yoga
नित्यः सर्वत्रगो ह्यात्मा कूटस्थो दोषवर्जितः / एकः स भिद्यते शक्त्या मायया न स्वभावतः
nityaḥ sarvatrago hyātmā kūṭastho doṣavarjitaḥ / ekaḥ sa bhidyate śaktyā māyayā na svabhāvataḥ
आत्मा नित्य और सर्वव्यापी है, कूटस्थ तथा दोषरहित है। वह एक ही होकर भी शक्ति—माया—से विभक्त-सा प्रतीत होता है, अपने स्वभाव से नहीं।
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching the Ishvara Gita doctrine
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It defines the Ātman as eternal, all-pervading, immutable, and दोष-वर्जित (free from any limitation or defect). Any perceived multiplicity is only an appearance, not a real change in the Self.
The verse supports discriminative contemplation (viveka) central to Pāśupata-oriented and Ishvara Gita teachings: meditate on the kūṭastha, faultless Self and recognize sensory-mental plurality as Māyā’s projection rather than the Ātman’s nature.
By grounding liberation in the one, defectless Ātman beyond Māyā, the text aligns Shaiva and Vaishnava approaches in a shared non-dual metaphysics: the supreme reality taught by Kurma (Vishnu) is the same transcendence upheld in Shaiva doctrine.