Īśvara-gītā: Antaryāmin, Kāla, and the Divine Ordinance Governing Creation, Preservation, and Pralaya
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे (ईश्वरगीतासु) पञ्चमो ऽध्यायः ईश्वर उवाच शृणुध्वमृषयः सर्वे यथावत् परमेष्ठिनः / वक्ष्यामीशस्य माहात्म्यं यत्तद्वेदविदो विदुः
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge (īśvaragītāsu) pañcamo 'dhyāyaḥ īśvara uvāca śṛṇudhvamṛṣayaḥ sarve yathāvat parameṣṭhinaḥ / vakṣyāmīśasya māhātmyaṃ yattadvedavido viduḥ
ดังนี้ ในศรีกูรมปุราณะ สังหิตาหกพันโศลกะ ภาคปลาย (ในอีศวรคีตา) บทที่ห้า อีศวรตรัสว่า: “ดูก่อนฤๅษีทั้งหลาย จงสดับโดยถูกต้อง; เราจักประกาศมหิมาแห่งอีศะ ซึ่งเหล่าผู้รู้พระเวทหยั่งรู้”
Ishvara (the Lord speaking within the Ishvara Gita; identified in Kurma Purana’s synthesis as the Supreme Lord worshipped through Shaiva-Vaishnava unity)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
It frames the Lord’s “māhātmya” as the same truth known by Veda-knowers—implying that the Supreme reality is not mere mythology but a realizable principle affirmed by Vedic insight.
This opening functions as a śravaṇa (disciplined listening) injunction—an essential first step in the Ishvara Gita’s yogic pedagogy that later unfolds into Pashupata-oriented discipline, contemplation, and realization.
By presenting “Īśvara” as the Veda-known Supreme, it supports the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian stance where the highest Lord is approached through an integrated Shaiva-Vaishnava theological lens.