Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 11
Rudra’s Cosmic Dance and the Recognition of Rudra–Nārāyaṇa Unity (Īśvara-gītā Continuation)
अण्डस्थं चाण्डबाह्यस्थं बाह्यमभ्यन्तरं परम् / सृजन्तमनलज्वालं दहन्तमखिलं जगत् / नृत्यन्तं ददृशुर्देवं विश्वकर्माणमीश्वरम्
aṇḍasthaṃ cāṇḍabāhyasthaṃ bāhyamabhyantaraṃ param / sṛjantamanalajvālaṃ dahantamakhilaṃ jagat / nṛtyantaṃ dadṛśurdevaṃ viśvakarmāṇamīśvaram
उन्होंने देव—ईश्वर, विश्वकर्मा—को देखा जो अण्ड के भीतर भी और अण्ड के बाहर भी स्थित है; जो परम है, बाह्य भी और अन्तः भी; जो अग्नि-ज्वालाएँ उत्पन्न करता है और फिर समस्त जगत् को भस्म करता है; और जो सर्व-शिल्पी प्रभु होकर नृत्य करता है।
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing what the sages/devotees saw in their vision)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
It presents Īśvara as both immanent and transcendent—within the brahmāṇḍa and beyond it—indicating a non-dual Supreme reality that pervades all while exceeding all.
The verse supports īśvara-dhyāna: contemplation of the Lord as simultaneously inner witness (abhyantara) and outer transcendence (bāhya/param), a key orientation for Pāśupata-leaning devotion and concentration in the Kaurma tradition.
By describing the Supreme as creator, destroyer, and cosmic dancer, it uses attributes often associated with Śiva while naming Īśvara in a manner compatible with Vaiṣṇava theology—reflecting the Kurma Purana’s synthesis where one Lord appears through multiple divine functions.