Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 15
Īśvara-gītā: Vibhūtis of the Supreme Lord and the Paśu–Paśupati Doctrine of Bondage and Release
विद्यानामात्मविद्याहं ज्ञानानामैश्वरं परम् / भूतानामस्म्यहं व्योम सत्त्वानां मृत्युरेव च
vidyānāmātmavidyāhaṃ jñānānāmaiśvaraṃ param / bhūtānāmasmyahaṃ vyoma sattvānāṃ mṛtyureva ca
Sa lahat ng sangay ng pag-aaral, Ako ang kaalaman sa Sarili; sa lahat ng uri ng kaalaman, Ako ang kataas-taasang kaalaman tungkol sa Panginoon (Īśvara). Sa mga nilalang, Ako ang kalawakan; at sa mga may buhay, Ako nga ang kamatayan.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching the Ishvara Gita discourse
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It identifies the Lord with ātmavidyā—direct realization of the Self—implying that the highest learning culminates in inner knowledge where the Supreme is known as one’s own deepest reality.
The verse prioritizes ātmavidyā as the core aim of sādhana: inward inquiry, disciplined contemplation (dhyāna) on Īśvara, and knowledge that matures into direct realization—central to the Ishvara Gita’s Yogic-Vedāntic teaching stream associated with Pāśupata-oriented devotion and renunciation.
By presenting Īśvara as the supreme principle manifesting as knowledge, space, and death, it supports the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: the one Lord (Īśvara) spoken of in Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms is a single transcendent reality teaching liberation through Self-knowledge.