Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 26
Īśvara-gītā: Bhakti as the Supreme Means; the Three Śaktis; Non-compelled Lordship
अन्ये च ये त्रयो भक्ता मदाराधनकाङ्क्षिणः / ते ऽपि मां प्राप्नुवन्त्येव नावर्तन्ते च वै पुनः
anye ca ye trayo bhaktā madārādhanakāṅkṣiṇaḥ / te 'pi māṃ prāpnuvantyeva nāvartante ca vai punaḥ
Và ba hạng người sùng kính khác, những ai khát khao thờ phụng Ta—họ cũng chắc chắn đạt đến Ta, và quả thật không còn trở lại nữa (không tái sinh trong vòng thế tục).
Lord Kurma (Vishnu/Narayana) instructing on bhakti and liberation
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By stating that devotees “attain Me” and “do not return again,” the verse presents the Supreme as the final, liberating reality whose attainment ends saṃsāra—aligning the Lord with the highest Self that grants apunarāvṛtti (non-return).
The verse emphasizes madārādhana—single-pointed worship/adoration—as a direct sādhanā. In Kurma Purana’s yogic framework, such devotion functions as bhakti-yoga (and is compatible with Pāśupata-oriented discipline), culminating in liberation rather than mere heavenly reward.
Though voiced in a Vaiṣṇava register (“attain Me”), the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis treats the supreme Lord as one reality approached through convergent disciplines; thus the promise of liberation through worship supports the text’s Shaiva–Vaiṣṇava non-contradiction in soteriology.