Shloka 69
Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching
Iśvara-Gītā Prelude
नमो ऽस्तु ते पुराणाय हरये विश्वमूर्तये / सर्गस्थितिविनाशानां हेतवे ऽनन्तशक्ये
namo 'stu te purāṇāya haraye viśvamūrtaye / sargasthitivināśānāṃ hetave 'nantaśakye
नमोऽस्तु ते पुराणाय हरये विश्वमूर्तये। सर्गस्थितिविनाशानां हेतवेऽनन्तशक्तये॥
Sūta (narrator) or the assembled sages offering an invocation to Hari as the Purāṇa (primeval Lord)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as viśvamūrti—manifest as the cosmos—yet also as the single hetu (ultimate cause) behind creation, preservation, and dissolution, implying an all-pervading Ishvara that grounds all states of existence.
The verse functions as a dhyāna-style invocation: meditation begins with namas (reverent surrender) to the all-pervading Lord, a foundational bhakti orientation that supports later Kurma Purana teachings on disciplined Yoga and Pāśupata-style devotion to Ishvara.
By praising Hari as the universal cause and cosmic form, it uses an Ishvara-centered theology compatible with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, where sectarian names differ but the supreme cosmic Lord-principle is one.