Īśvara-Gītā (continued): Twofold Yoga, Aṣṭāṅga Discipline, Pāśupata Meditation, and the Unity of Nārāyaṇa–Maheśvara
इती श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे (ईश्वरगीतासु) दशमो ऽध्यायः ईश्वर उवाच अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि योगं परमदुर्लभम् / येनात्मानं प्रपश्यन्ति भानुमन्तमिवेश्वरम्
itī śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge (īśvaragītāsu) daśamo 'dhyāyaḥ īśvara uvāca ataḥ paraṃ pravakṣyāmi yogaṃ paramadurlabham / yenātmānaṃ prapaśyanti bhānumantamiveśvaram
ในอีศวรคีตาแห่งศรีกูรมปุราณะ พระอีศวรตรัสว่า “ต่อแต่นี้เราจักแสดงโยคะอันหาได้ยากยิ่ง ซึ่งด้วยโยคะนั้น ผู้ปฏิบัติย่อมเห็นอาตมันประจักษ์ เป็นประกายดุจดวงอาทิตย์ และเป็นองค์พระผู้เป็นเจ้า”
Īśvara (the Supreme Lord, as taught in the Īśvara-gītā within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
It presents the Ātman as directly knowable through Yoga—self-luminous and radiant “like the sun,” and to be realized as identical with the Lord (Īśvara).
The verse introduces a “supremely rare” Yoga aimed at direct vision (prapaśyanti) of the Self—implying disciplined contemplation and inner realization characteristic of the Īśvara-gītā’s Pāśupata-oriented soteriology.
By centering realization on Īśvara as the radiant Self, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where the Supreme Lord—revered through both Shaiva and Vaishnava lenses—is realized as the one inner Ātman.