Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 21
Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction
या सा माहेश्वरी शक्तिर्ज्ञानरूपातिलालसा / व्योमसंज्ञा परा काष्ठा सेयं हैमवती मता
yā sā māheśvarī śaktirjñānarūpātilālasā / vyomasaṃjñā parā kāṣṭhā seyaṃ haimavatī matā
那大自在天（摩醯湿伐罗）的至上神力，恒常渴慕以智慧为体，名为“虚空（Vyoma）”——遍满一切的广大境界——乃最高极限与究竟之位；她被尊称为“海摩伐底（Haimavatī）”。
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) expounding Ishvara Gita teachings in a Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
By identifying the highest reality with Vyoma-like all-pervasiveness and with Jñāna-Śakti, the verse points to the Supreme as an ultimate, limitless state realized as knowledge rather than as a merely physical form.
The verse implies a jñāna-oriented Pāśupata contemplation: meditating on the all-pervading ‘Vyoma’ principle and recognizing Śiva’s Śakti as the very power of liberating knowledge that culminates in the ‘parā kāṣṭhā’ (highest attainment).
With Lord Kurma teaching the supremacy of Māheśvarī Śakti, the text models Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: Vishnu (as Kurma) affirms Shaiva metaphysics, presenting liberation through knowledge of Śiva-Śakti as fully compatible with Purāṇic devotion.