Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 22
Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction
शिवा सर्वगतानान्ता गुणातीता सुनिष्कला / एकानेकविभागस्था ज्ञानरूपातिलालसा
śivā sarvagatānāntā guṇātītā suniṣkalā / ekānekavibhāgasthā jñānarūpātilālasā
ती शिवा—मंगलमयी परमा—सर्वव्यापी व अनंत आहे; गुणांच्या पलीकडे व पूर्णतः निष्कल आहे. एक असूनही अनेक विभागांचा आधार होऊन स्थित आहे, आणि तिचे स्वरूप चैतन्य—सत्यज्ञानाच्या जागृतीत सदैव अनुरक्त।
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) teaching the Ishvara Gita (Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as all-pervading and infinite, beyond the guṇas and without parts—one reality that nevertheless appears as the many divisions, with consciousness (jñāna) as its essential nature.
The verse foregrounds jñāna-centered realization: meditative discernment of the partless, guṇa-transcending reality that underlies all multiplicity—an orientation consistent with Pāśupata-aligned inner renunciation and knowledge leading to mokṣa.
By having Lord Kūrma teach the Supreme as “Śivā” (the auspicious, transcendent reality), it reflects the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: the one Ishvara is expressed through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava language without contradiction.