Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 16
The True Liṅga as Formless Brahman — Self-Luminous Īśa and the Yoga of Liberation
न भूमिरापो न मनो न वह्निः प्राणो ऽनिलो गगनं नोत बुद्धिः / न चेतनो ऽन्यत् परमाकाशमध्ये विभाति देवः शिव एव केवलः
na bhūmirāpo na mano na vahniḥ prāṇo 'nilo gaganaṃ nota buddhiḥ / na cetano 'nyat paramākāśamadhye vibhāti devaḥ śiva eva kevalaḥ
ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಭೂಮಿಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಜಲವೂ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಮನಸ್ಸೂ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಅಗ್ನಿಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲ; ಪ್ರಾಣವೂ ಇಲ್ಲ, ವಾಯುವೂ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಆಕಾಶವೂ ಇಲ್ಲ, ಬುದ್ಧಿಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ಚೇತನ ತತ್ತ್ವವೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಪರಮಾಕಾಶಸ್ವರೂಪ ಸತ್ಯದ ಮಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇವಲ ದೇವ ಶಿವನೇ ಪ್ರಕಾಶಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ—ಶಿವನೇ ಏಕಮಾತ್ರ.
Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) teaching as Īśvara-gītā, revealing the supreme Śiva-tattva
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By negating the gross elements (earth, water, fire, wind, space) and subtle faculties (mind, prāṇa, buddhi), the verse points to the Atman as the non-objectifiable Reality that remains—self-luminous and one, identified here as Śiva alone.
It supports a Pāśupata-aligned contemplative method of viveka and neti-neti (discriminative negation): withdrawing identification from body-elements and inner instruments, and abiding in the supreme expanse (paramākāśa) where the Lord is realized as the only shining consciousness.
Within the Īśvara-gītā framework of the Kūrma Purāṇa, Viṣṇu (as Lord Kūrma) teaches the supremacy of Śiva as the non-dual Reality, expressing a Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where sectarian difference dissolves in the one Īśvara.