Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 41
Prākṛta-pralaya, Pratisarga Doctrine, and the Ishvara-Samanvaya of Yoga and Devotion
मया प्रोक्तो हि भवतां योगः प्रागेव निर्गुणः / आरुरुक्षुस्तु सगुणं पूजयेत् परमेश्वरम्
mayā prokto hi bhavatāṃ yogaḥ prāgeva nirguṇaḥ / ārurukṣustu saguṇaṃ pūjayet parameśvaram
میں نے تمہیں پہلے ہی نِرگُن یوگ کا اُپدیش دیا ہے؛ مگر جو ابھی عروج کی سعی میں ہے وہ پرمیشور کی سَگُن صورت میں پوجا کرے۔
Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) instructing the sages (in the Ishvara-gītā style teaching of graded practice)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It affirms a nirguṇa orientation—ultimate reality is beyond qualities—while allowing devotion to a saguṇa Īśvara as a practical support for those not yet established in attributeless realization.
The verse teaches a graded discipline: higher yoga is nirguṇa contemplation, but the aspirant (ārurukṣu) should begin with saguṇa upāsanā—worship and focused devotion to the Lord’s form—as a stabilizing means toward inner absorption.
By using the inclusive title “Parameśvara” for the worshipful Lord while also teaching nirguṇa realization, it supports the Purāṇic non-sectarian synthesis in which the one Supreme is approached through shared divine forms and ultimately known beyond form.