Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 25
Lineage of Vyāsas, Division of the Veda, and Vāsudeva/Īśāna as the Veda-Known Supreme
इत्येदक्षरं वेद्यमोङ्कारं वेदमव्ययम् / अवेदं च विजानाति पाराशर्यो महामुनिः
ityedakṣaraṃ vedyamoṅkāraṃ vedamavyayam / avedaṃ ca vijānāti pārāśaryo mahāmuniḥ
Demikianlah, mahāmuni Pārāśarya memahami bahawa yang dapat diketahui lagi tidak binasa ialah Oṁkāra—Veda itu sendiri, Veda yang tidak luput—dan beliau juga mengetahui apa yang disebut “bukan-Veda”, yakni yang berada di luar pengetahuan Veda yang sejati.
Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing Pārāśarya/Vyāsa’s discernment)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It identifies the knowable Imperishable (akṣara)—a standard marker for the Supreme reality/Ātman-Brahman—as Oṁ (Praṇava), presenting the Supreme as directly approachable through the mantra that embodies Vedic revelation.
Praṇava-upāsanā is implied: meditation on Oṁkāra as the imperishable essence of the Veda, a mantra-centered contemplative practice aligned with Yoga-śāstra where sound (śabda) becomes a support for realizing the akṣara.
By grounding ultimate knowledge in the impersonal Praṇava (Oṁ) and the akṣara, it supports the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: the Supreme indicated by Oṁ can be approached through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava frames without contradiction.