Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 48
Īśvara-gītā: Antaryāmin, Kāla, and the Divine Ordinance Governing Creation, Preservation, and Pralaya
यो वै देहभृतां देवः पुरुषः पठ्यते परः / आत्मासौ वर्तते नित्यमीश्वरस्य नियोगतः
yo vai dehabhṛtāṃ devaḥ puruṣaḥ paṭhyate paraḥ / ātmāsau vartate nityamīśvarasya niyogataḥ
Ang Kataas-taasang Purusha—na binibigkas bilang banal na Panginoon sa loob ng lahat ng may katawan—ay nananatiling walang hanggan bilang Sarili (Ātman), at kumikilos ayon sa ordinansa ni Īśvara.
Lord Kūrma (as the teacher of the Īśvara-Gītā discourse)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It identifies the supreme Puruṣa as the very Ātman within embodied beings—ever-present and enduring—rather than a transient product of the body.
The verse supports Ātma-vicāra and īśvara-smṛti in Yoga: meditation that recognizes the inner Self as the supreme Puruṣa while aligning one’s life and practice with Īśvara’s niyoga (divine order), a key orientation in the Kurma Purana’s Pāśupata-leaning discipline.
By centering Īśvara as the governing Lord and the supreme Puruṣa as the inner Self, it frames divinity non-sectarianly—consistent with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where the one Lord is understood through multiple theistic names and forms.