Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 16
The True Liṅga as Formless Brahman — Self-Luminous Īśa and the Yoga of Liberation
न भूमिरापो न मनो न वह्निः प्राणो ऽनिलो गगनं नोत बुद्धिः / न चेतनो ऽन्यत् परमाकाशमध्ये विभाति देवः शिव एव केवलः
na bhūmirāpo na mano na vahniḥ prāṇo 'nilo gaganaṃ nota buddhiḥ / na cetano 'nyat paramākāśamadhye vibhāti devaḥ śiva eva kevalaḥ
Di sana tiada bumi, tiada air, tiada minda, tiada api; tiada prāṇa, tiada angin, tiada langit, bahkan tiada intelek. Tiada juga prinsip kesedaran yang lain. Di tengah ākāśa tertinggi Hakikat, Tuhan sahaja bersinar—Śiva, dan Śiva sahaja.
Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) teaching as Īśvara-gītā, revealing the supreme Śiva-tattva
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By negating the gross elements (earth, water, fire, wind, space) and subtle faculties (mind, prāṇa, buddhi), the verse points to the Atman as the non-objectifiable Reality that remains—self-luminous and one, identified here as Śiva alone.
It supports a Pāśupata-aligned contemplative method of viveka and neti-neti (discriminative negation): withdrawing identification from body-elements and inner instruments, and abiding in the supreme expanse (paramākāśa) where the Lord is realized as the only shining consciousness.
Within the Īśvara-gītā framework of the Kūrma Purāṇa, Viṣṇu (as Lord Kūrma) teaches the supremacy of Śiva as the non-dual Reality, expressing a Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where sectarian difference dissolves in the one Īśvara.