Īśvara-Gītā (continued): Twofold Yoga, Aṣṭāṅga Discipline, Pāśupata Meditation, and the Unity of Nārāyaṇa–Maheśvara
एष पाशुपतो योगः पशुपाशविमुक्तये / सर्ववेदान्तसारो ऽयमत्याश्रममिति श्रुतिः
eṣa pāśupato yogaḥ paśupāśavimuktaye / sarvavedāntasāro 'yamatyāśramamiti śrutiḥ
Inilah Yoga Pāśupata, diajarkan untuk membebaskan jiwa yang terikat (paśu) daripada belenggu (pāśa) keterbatasan. Inilah inti sari seluruh Vedānta; dan Śruti menyatakan bahawa ia melampaui semua āśrama.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) expounding the Ishvara Gita teaching in a Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
By calling this discipline the “essence of all Vedānta,” the verse points to Vedāntic realization as the goal: freedom of the individual self (paśu) from bondage (pāśa), culminating in liberating knowledge and union with the Supreme.
The verse specifically elevates Pāśupata Yoga as the liberating method—an Ishvara-centered (Paśupati/Śiva) path aimed at cutting the fetters of ignorance and limitation, and presented as a consummate Vedāntic sādhanā rather than merely a social-ritual observance.
Though spoken by Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu), the verse praises Pāśupata (Śaiva) Yoga as Vedānta’s essence, reflecting the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where Śiva’s path and Vedāntic liberation are affirmed within a Vaiṣṇava speaker’s instruction.