Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 13
The True Liṅga as Formless Brahman — Self-Luminous Īśa and the Yoga of Liberation
न तत्र सूर्यः प्रविभातीह चन्द्रो न नक्षत्राणि तपनो नोत विद्युत् / तद्भासेदमखिलं भाति नित्यं तन्नित्यभासमचलं सद्विभाति
na tatra sūryaḥ pravibhātīha candro na nakṣatrāṇi tapano nota vidyut / tadbhāsedamakhilaṃ bhāti nityaṃ tannityabhāsamacalaṃ sadvibhāti
នៅទីនោះ ព្រះអាទិត្យមិនភ្លឺទេ ព្រះចន្ទក៏មិនភ្លឺ នក្ខត្រក៏មិនភ្លឺ; មិនមានរន្ទះ ឬភ្លើងលោកីយ៍ណាភ្លឺឡើយ។ ដោយពន្លឺរបស់ «នោះ» តែប៉ុណ្ណោះ សព្វអ្វីទាំងអស់នៅទីនេះភ្លឺជានិច្ច។ សច្ចធាតុអចលៈ ដែលភ្លឺដោយខ្លួនឯងជានិច្ច នោះតែមួយគត់ភ្លឺពិត។
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing King Indradyumna in the Ishvara Gita
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It declares the Atman/Brahman as self-luminous (svayaṃ-prakāśa): not revealed by external lights like sun or moon, but the very light by which all experience and the entire world appear.
It supports inward-turning meditation (pratyāhāra and dhyāna) central to the Kurma Purana’s Ishvara Gita: withdraw attention from sensory “lights” and contemplate the changeless, self-revealing consciousness as the true illuminator.
By focusing on the one self-luminous Īśvara beyond all cosmic luminaries, it aligns Shaiva and Vaishnava language into a single non-dual principle—one Supreme Reality praised through different divine names and forms.