Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 57
Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī
नित्यानन्दाय विभवे नमो ऽस्त्वानन्दमूर्तये / नमः कार्यविहीनाय विश्वप्रकृतये नमः
nityānandāya vibhave namo 'stvānandamūrtaye / namaḥ kāryavihīnāya viśvaprakṛtaye namaḥ
நித்திய ஆனந்தமாய் எல்லாவற்றையும் ஆளும் பரம்பொருளுக்கு நமஸ்காரம்—ஆனந்தமூர்த்திக்கு வணக்கம். செயல்பலனற்ற, காரண-காரியத்திற்கும் அப்பாற்பட்டவருக்கு நமः; உலகின் ஆதிப் பிரக்ருதியாய் இருப்பவருக்கும் நமः.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) as the taught Supreme (Ishvara) being praised within the Ishvara Gita-style discourse context
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as eternal bliss itself (ānanda), not merely a blissful experience; and as kāryavihīna—beyond produced effects—indicating a transcendent, actionless reality underlying all states.
The verse supports contemplative upāsanā: meditating on Ishvara as ānandamūrti (bliss-form) and as beyond kārya (effects), a classic Pashupata/Ishvara-Gita emphasis on withdrawing attention from changing phenomena to the unconditioned ground.
By praising a single Ishvara who is both transcendent (beyond effects) and immanent (ground of the universe), it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis: one Supreme Lord worshipped through multiple theistic forms without contradiction.