Commencement of the Upari-bhāga: The Sages Request Brahma-vidyā; Vyāsa Recalls the Badarikā Inquiry and Śiva–Viṣṇu Theophany
संदर्शनान्महेशस्य शङ्करस्याथ शूलिनः / कृतार्थं स्वयमात्मानं ज्ञातुमर्हथ तत्त्वतः
saṃdarśanānmaheśasya śaṅkarasyātha śūlinaḥ / kṛtārthaṃ svayamātmānaṃ jñātumarhatha tattvataḥ
เพียงได้เห็นพระมหेशะ—พระศังกร ผู้ทรงตรีศูล—ท่านทั้งหลายก็สำเร็จความหมายแล้ว; เพราะฉะนั้นจึงควรรู้อาตมันของตนตามความจริงแห่งตัตตวะ
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the sages (including Indradyumna’s context in the Ishvara Gita setting)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
It points from outer sacred vision (darśana of Mahēśa) to inner realization: true fulfillment is completed by knowing one’s own Ātman “tattvataḥ,” i.e., as it really is beyond mere appearance.
The verse emphasizes darśana and tattva-jñāna as a Pāśupata-oriented progression: reverent encounter with Śiva culminates in disciplined self-inquiry and realization of the Self, aligning devotion with yogic knowledge.
With Lord Kūrma teaching that Śiva’s darśana grants fulfillment and leads to Self-knowledge, the text frames Śiva-reverence as fully authoritative within a Vaiṣṇava narration—an explicit Shaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis typical of the Kurma Purana’s Ishvara Gita.