Shloka 17
Īśvara-gītā: Bhakti as the Supreme Means; the Three Śaktis; Non-compelled Lordship
अहं वै सर्वसंसारान्मोचको योगिनामिह / संसारहेतुरेवाहं सर्वसंसारवर्जितः
ahaṃ vai sarvasaṃsārānmocako yogināmiha / saṃsāraheturevāhaṃ sarvasaṃsāravarjitaḥ
เราแต่ผู้เดียวเป็นผู้ปลดปล่อยโยคีทั้งหลายในโลกนี้จากพันธนาการแห่งสังสารทั้งปวง และเราถูกกล่าวว่าเป็นเหตุแห่งสังสาร—แต่เรากลับพ้นจากสังสารทั้งสิ้น มิได้ถูกแตะต้องเลย
Lord Kurma (Vishnu/Ishvara) teaching the nature of the Supreme in a yoga-philosophical register
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents Ishvara as simultaneously the liberator (granting moksha to yogins) and the cosmic cause attributed with saṃsāra, while remaining intrinsically untouched—pointing to a transcendent Self that is immanent in causality yet free from bondage.
The verse centers the yogin’s aim: release from saṃsāra through turning to Ishvara. In Kurma Purana’s yoga idiom, this aligns with disciplined meditation and devotion to the Lord as the freeing principle—i.e., liberation is achieved by God-realization rather than by worldly action alone.
Though Kurma speaks as Vishnu, the doctrine—one Supreme who is both cause and liberator, yet untouched—matches the Purana’s synthetic theology often expressed in Shaiva terms (Ishvara/Pashupati). It supports a non-sectarian, non-dual framing where the same Ishvara is praised through both Vaishnava and Shaiva vocabularies.