Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 69

Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching

Iśvara-Gītā Prelude

Devanagari script

नमो ऽस्तु ते पुराणाय हरये विश्वमूर्तये / सर्गस्थितिविनाशानां हेतवे ऽनन्तशक्ये

Transliteration

namo 'stu te purāṇāya haraye viśvamūrtaye / sargasthitivināśānāṃ hetave 'nantaśakye

Translation

السلام لك—أيها القديم (بورانا)، يا هري، يا من صورتُه هي الكون كلّه؛ يا سببَ الخلق والبقاء والفناء، يا ذا القدرة التي لا تُقاس.

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Prayojana/भाव (उपपद-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), salutation particle; with dative

• astu: let there be
• astu: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: Loṭ (लोट्, Imperative/benedictive sense), Parasmaipada, 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (युष्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular

• purāṇāya: to the Ancient One
• purāṇāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; epithet in apposition to te

• haraye: to Hari
• haraye: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular

• viśva-mūrtaye: to the one whose form is the universe
• viśva-mūrtaye: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + mūrti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; tatpuruṣa: 'whose form is the universe'

• sarga-sthiti-vināśānām: of creation, preservation, and destruction
• sarga-sthiti-vināśānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarga (प्रातिपदिक) + sthiti (प्रातिपदिक) + vināśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; itaretara-dvandva: 'of creation, maintenance, and destruction'

• hetave: to the cause
• hetave: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular

• ananta-śakye: to the infinitely powerful
• ananta-śakye: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ananta (प्रातिपदिक) + śakya (शक्य, कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; karmadhāraya: 'infinitely capable / of endless power'

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) or the assembled sages offering an invocation to Hari as the Purāṇa (primeval Lord)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Vishnu

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

It presents the Supreme as viśvamūrti—manifest as the cosmos—yet also as the single hetu (ultimate cause) behind creation, preservation, and dissolution, implying an all-pervading Ishvara that grounds all states of existence.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse functions as a dhyāna-style invocation: meditation begins with namas (reverent surrender) to the all-pervading Lord, a foundational bhakti orientation that supports later Kurma Purana teachings on disciplined Yoga and Pāśupata-style devotion to Ishvara.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

By praising Hari as the universal cause and cosmic form, it uses an Ishvara-centered theology compatible with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, where sectarian names differ but the supreme cosmic Lord-principle is one.