Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 35
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
अनयैव जगत्सर्वं सदेवासुरमानुषम् / मोहयामि द्विजश्रेष्ठा ग्रसामि विसृजामि च
anayaiva jagatsarvaṃ sadevāsuramānuṣam / mohayāmi dvijaśreṣṭhā grasāmi visṛjāmi ca
ഹേ ദ്വിജശ്രേഷ്ഠന്മാരേ! ഈ മായാശക്തിയാൽ തന്നെയാണ് ഞാൻ ദേവ-അസുര-മനുഷ്യരുള്പ്പെടെ സർവ്വജഗത്തെയും മോഹിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്; ഇതാൽ തന്നെയാണ് ഞാൻ എല്ലാം ഗ്രസിക്കുകയും വീണ്ടും സൃഷ്ടിക്കായി വിട്ടയക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നത്।
Lord Kurma (Vishnu/Narayana as the Supreme Ishvara)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme Lord as the sovereign Ishvara who wields Māyā to veil beings and also to withdraw and manifest the cosmos—implying a transcendent Self that is untouched while governing creation and dissolution.
The verse points to the fundamental yogic problem—moha (delusion) caused by Māyā—and thus supports Kurma Purana’s yogic thrust: discernment (viveka) and devotion/meditation on Ishvara to pierce Māyā and recognize the Lord as the source and end of all manifestations.
By emphasizing a single Supreme Ishvara who deludes and withdraws the universe, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where the highest Lord (spoken here as Kurma/Vishnu) is understood in the same ultimate sense that Shaiva traditions attribute to Shiva—one reality operating through Māyā.