Shloka 69
Tīrtha-māhātmya and Rudra’s Samanvaya Teaching
Maṅkaṇaka Episode
एको ऽहं भगवान् कलो ह्यनादिश्चान्तकृद् विभुः / समास्थाय परं भावं प्रोक्तो रुद्रो मनीषिभिः
eko 'haṃ bhagavān kalo hyanādiścāntakṛd vibhuḥ / samāsthāya paraṃ bhāvaṃ prokto rudro manīṣibhiḥ
“Chỉ riêng Ta là Bhagavān—chính là Kāla (Thời Gian): vô thủy, khắp cùng, và là Đấng làm nên sự tiêu dung. An trụ trong cảnh giới tối thượng, Ta được bậc hiền trí tuyên xưng là Rudra.”
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita style, identifying the Supreme with Rudra
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It presents the Supreme as singular (“I alone”), beginningless and all-pervading, identified with the cosmic principle of Time and the power of dissolution—pointing to an ultimate reality that transcends sectarian labels while being named “Rudra” by the wise.
The key practice implied is contemplative absorption in the “para-bhāva” (supreme state): meditating on the Lord as all-pervading Kāla and as the inner ruler who brings both manifestation and pralaya—an Ishvara-centered contemplation aligned with Pashupata-style theism and inner steadiness (samāsthāya).
The speaker (Kurma/Vishnu) explicitly accepts the name “Rudra” for the Supreme, modeling the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis: one Ishvara is praised through different divine names and functions (especially as Kāla and dissolver).