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Concept

Īśvara

The Lord: God as personal creator and ruler of the world.
Sanskrit
īśvara ईश्वर

Definition

Īśvara, “the Lord”, is the most general Sanskrit name for God as the personal creator, sustainer and ruler of the world. Different traditions identify the Lord with different deities, most often Viṣṇu or Śiva, and give the Lord different places in their systems.

In the theistic schools of Vedānta, the Lord is Brahman itself: Viśiṣṭādvaita and Dvaita identify Brahman with Viṣṇu or Nārāyaṇa, the possessor of infinite auspicious qualities, and the goal of devotion. In Advaita, the Lord is Brahman as associated with māyā: real for all practical purposes, the creator and the giver of the fruits of action, and worthy of worship, but not the final truth, which is Brahman without qualities.

Classical Yoga gives the Lord a modest but distinctive place: a special self, untouched by affliction, action and its results (Yoga Sūtras 1.24), whose name is the syllable oṃ, and devotion to whom (īśvara-praṇidhāna) is one of the means to absorption.

In the traditions

Advaita Vedānta

Brahman associated with māyā: the creator and ruler of the world at the level of practical reality.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Brahman itself, the Lord Nārāyaṇa, with infinite auspicious qualities, the inner ruler of every self.

Yoga

A special self, ever free, devotion to whom is a means to absorption (Yoga Sūtras 1.23–29).

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Cite this entry
Chicago (bibliography)

“Īśvara.” Concept. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/concepts/ishvara.

Chicago (note)

“Īśvara,” concept, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/concepts/ishvara.

MLA

“Īśvara.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/concepts/ishvara.

BibTeX
@misc{concepts-ishvara,
  title = {{Īśvara}},
  howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society},
  note = {Concept. Last modified November 7, 2026},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/concepts/ishvara}
}

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