Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 78
Madhu–Kaiṭabha, Nārāyaṇa’s Yoga-Nidrā, Rudra’s Manifestation, and the Aṣṭamūrti–Trimūrti Teaching
ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवा ब्रह्मन् सर्गस्थित्यन्तहेतवः / विभज्यात्मानमेको ऽपि स्वेच्छया शङ्करः स्थितः
brahmaviṣṇuśivā brahman sargasthityantahetavaḥ / vibhajyātmānameko 'pi svecchayā śaṅkaraḥ sthitaḥ
Wahai Brahman, Brahma, Wisnu, dan Siwa adalah sebab bagi penciptaan, pemeliharaan, dan peleburan. Namun Tuhan, walau Esa, dengan kehendak-Nya membedakan Diri dan bersemayam sebagai Śaṅkara.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita context
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as one Reality that can appear as multiple divine functions—creation, preservation, and dissolution—without losing its essential oneness; the many forms arise by the Lord’s own will.
The verse supports Ishvara-centered contemplation: meditation on the one Lord who manifests as the triad of cosmic functions, a theistic-nondual orientation aligned with the Kurma Purana’s Pashupata-leaning devotion and inner recognition of one Ishvara.
It frames Śiva (Śaṅkara) and Viṣṇu not as competing absolutes but as expressions within a single supreme principle; the Purana’s synthesis treats their powers as unified under one Ishvara.