Īśvara-gītā: Bhakti as the Supreme Means; the Three Śaktis; Non-compelled Lordship
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे (ईश्वरगीतासु) तृतीयो ऽध्यायः ईश्वर उवाच वक्ष्ये समाहिता यूयं शृणुध्वं ब्रह्मवादिनः / माहात्म्यं देवदेवस्य येनेदं संप्रवर्तते
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge (īśvaragītāsu) tṛtīyo 'dhyāyaḥ īśvara uvāca vakṣye samāhitā yūyaṃ śṛṇudhvaṃ brahmavādinaḥ / māhātmyaṃ devadevasya yenedaṃ saṃpravartate
ഇങ്ങനെ ശ്രീകൂർമപുരാണത്തിലെ ഷട്സാഹസ്ത്രീ സംഹിതയുടെ ഉത്തരവിഭാഗത്തിൽ, ഈശ്വരഗീതകളിലെ മൂന്നാം അധ്യായം. ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഹേ ബ്രഹ്മവാദികളേ, നിങ്ങൾ ഏകാഗ്രരായി കേൾക്കുവിൻ; ഇതുവഴി ഈ ഉപദേശം/ധർമ്മപ്രവാഹം പ്രവർത്തിക്കുന്ന ദേവദേവന്റെ മഹാത്മ്യം ഞാൻ പ്രസ്താവിക്കും.
Ishvara (the Lord; in the Ishvara Gita context, Lord Kurma/Vishnu speaking with Shaiva-terminology of Devadeva)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
By addressing the listeners as brahmavādinaḥ and announcing a teaching grounded in the “greatness of Devadeva,” the verse frames the coming doctrine as Brahman-centered: the Supreme is the source by which the whole order of teaching and dharma proceeds.
The immediate practice is samādhāna—mental collectedness (samāhitāḥ). The verse sets a yogic tone: disciplined attention and inner steadiness are prerequisites for receiving the Ishvara Gita’s Pāśupata-oriented instruction.
The speaker is Īśvara in the Kurma Purana (a Vishnu/Kūrma setting) yet the focus is Devadeva, a strongly Shaiva epithet—signaling the text’s synthetic stance where the supreme Lord is praised through shared titles rather than sectarian separation.