Shloka 2
Iśvara on Māyā, the Unmanifest, and the Viśvarūpa of the One Supreme
ईश्वर उवाच नाहं विश्वो न विश्वं च मामृते विद्यते द्विजाः / मायानिमित्तमत्रास्ति सा चात्मानमपाश्रिता
īśvara uvāca nāhaṃ viśvo na viśvaṃ ca māmṛte vidyate dvijāḥ / māyānimittamatrāsti sā cātmānamapāśritā
ഈശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു— ഞാൻ വിശ്വമല്ല; എന്നെ വിട്ട് സ്വതന്ത്രമായ വിശ്വവും ഇല്ല. ഹേ ദ്വിജന്മാരേ, എന്നെ കൂടാതെ ഒന്നുമില്ല. ഇവിടെ കാരണമെന്നു തോന്നുന്നത് മായയാണ്; ആ മായ ആത്മാവിനെ ആശ്രയിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.
Īśvara (Lord Kurma/Vishnu as the Supreme Teacher in the Ishvara Gita)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It asserts that nothing exists independently of Īśvara; the Self is the underlying reality on which Māyā depends, indicating a non-dual ground where the apparent world has no separate, self-sustaining existence.
The verse supplies the metaphysical basis for Yoga: meditation should be directed to the Self/Ishvara as the sole reality, treating worldly appearances as Māyā-dependent—supporting inward absorption (dhyāna) and discriminative insight (viveka) central to the Ishvara Gita’s Pāśupata-oriented discipline.
By presenting Īśvara as the one reality beyond the world and as the support of Māyā, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-dual, synthesizing stance in which the supreme Lord transcends sectarian difference—harmonizing Shaiva and Vaishnava theologies at the level of Brahman/Ishvara.