Iśvara on Māyā, the Unmanifest, and the Viśvarūpa of the One Supreme
ईश्वर उवाच नाहं विश्वो न विश्वं च मामृते विद्यते द्विजाः / मायानिमित्तमत्रास्ति सा चात्मानमपाश्रिता
īśvara uvāca nāhaṃ viśvo na viśvaṃ ca māmṛte vidyate dvijāḥ / māyānimittamatrāsti sā cātmānamapāśritā
اِیشور نے فرمایا— نہ میں یہ کائنات ہوں اور نہ میرے سوا کوئی مستقل کائنات ہے۔ اے دوبار جنم لینے والو! میرے بغیر کچھ بھی موجود نہیں۔ یہاں سبب کے طور پر مایا ہے، اور وہ مایا آتما پر ہی قائم ہے۔
Īśvara (Lord Kurma/Vishnu as the Supreme Teacher in the Ishvara Gita)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
It asserts that nothing exists independently of Īśvara; the Self is the underlying reality on which Māyā depends, indicating a non-dual ground where the apparent world has no separate, self-sustaining existence.
The verse supplies the metaphysical basis for Yoga: meditation should be directed to the Self/Ishvara as the sole reality, treating worldly appearances as Māyā-dependent—supporting inward absorption (dhyāna) and discriminative insight (viveka) central to the Ishvara Gita’s Pāśupata-oriented discipline.
By presenting Īśvara as the one reality beyond the world and as the support of Māyā, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-dual, synthesizing stance in which the supreme Lord transcends sectarian difference—harmonizing Shaiva and Vaishnava theologies at the level of Brahman/Ishvara.