Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 51
Commencement of the Upari-bhāga: The Sages Request Brahma-vidyā; Vyāsa Recalls the Badarikā Inquiry and Śiva–Viṣṇu Theophany
यदन्तरा सर्वमेतद् यतो ऽभिन्नमिदं जगत् / स वासुदेवमासीनं तमीशं ददृशुः किल
yadantarā sarvametad yato 'bhinnamidaṃ jagat / sa vāsudevamāsīnaṃ tamīśaṃ dadṛśuḥ kila
جس کے باطن میں یہ سب کچھ قائم ہے اور جس سے یہ کائنات جدا نہیں—اسی بیٹھے ہوئے واسودیو، اسی اِیش (پروردگار) کو انہوں نے یقیناً دیکھا۔
Narrator within the Ishvara Gita frame (sages’/Vyasa-style narration describing the vision of the Supreme as Vasudeva-Īśa)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as the inner support of all (“within whom all this exists”) and as non-different from the cosmos (“the world is not separate from Him”), expressing a non-dual (abheda) vision of Īśvara/Ātman.
The image of “Vasudeva seated (āsīna)” points to contemplative absorption: through dhyāna and inner vision, the seeker ‘beholds’ the Lord as the immanent Self pervading all—an Ishvara-centered yoga consistent with the Kurma Purana’s Pashupata-leaning theism and Vedantic insight.
By calling the seen deity both “Vasudeva” (Vaishnava name) and “Īśa” (a Shaiva title), it signals the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: the one Supreme is addressed through both Shiva and Vishnu vocabularies without division.