Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 146

Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction

Devanagari script

कपिला कापिला कान्ताकनकाभाकलान्तरा / पुण्या पुष्करिणी भोक्त्री पुरन्दरपुरस्सरा

Transliteration

kapilā kāpilā kāntākanakābhākalāntarā / puṇyā puṣkariṇī bhoktrī purandarapurassarā

Translation

هي كَبِيلَا (Kapilā) وكَابِيلَا (Kāpilā)، المتألِّقة التي يلمع جمالها كالذهب؛ وهي بُونْيَا (Puṇyā) الطاهرة، وبُشْكَرِينِي (Puṣkariṇī) كبحيرة اللوتس المقدّسة، واهبة اللذّة والقوت، وهي التي تتقدّم أمام مدينة بُرَنْدَرَا (إندرا).

Word by Word

• कपिला: tawny; brownish
• कपिला: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कपिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण-प्रयोग

• कापिला: Kapilā; of Kapila (name/epithet)
• कापिला: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कापिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• कान्ता-कनक-आभा-कल-अन्तरा: having a lovely, golden, gentle radiance within
• कान्ता-कनक-आभा-कल-अन्तरा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कान्ता (प्रातिपदिक) + कनक (प्रातिपदिक) + आभा (प्रातिपदिक) + कल (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्तरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — ‘कान्ता’(प्रिय/सुन्दरी) ‘कनक-आभा’(golden-lustre) ‘कल’(soft/pleasant) ‘अन्तरा’(having within/possessing)

• पुण्या: holy; auspicious
• पुण्या: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• पुष्करिणी: lotus-pond; sacred tank
• पुष्करिणी: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्करिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• भोक्त्री: enjoyer; consumer
• भोक्त्री: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुज् (धातु) → भोक्तृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तरि-तृन् (agent noun)

• पुरन्दर-पुरः-सरा: she who moves before Purandara (Indra)
• पुरन्दर-पुरः-सरा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरन्दर (प्रातिपदिक) + पुरः (अव्यय/उपसर्गवत्) + सरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः (तत्पुरुष) — ‘पुरन्दरस्य पुरः’ (in front of Indra) ‘सरा’ (moving/going)

Speaker

Sūta (narrating the Kurma Purana’s sacred geography in a tirtha-mahatmya catalogue style)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shringara

Characters & Entities

• Puṣkariṇī (sacred tank)
• Purandara (Indra)
• Kapilā (sacred epithet/name)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse does not directly define Ātman; it praises sacred manifestations (names of a holy tank/river-like tirtha) whose merit purifies the seeker—preparing the mind for the Ātman-knowledge taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana (including the Ishvara Gītā sections).

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No technique is taught explicitly; the implied discipline is tīrtha-sevā—pilgrimage, ritual bathing, and reverent contemplation—which functions as śuddhi (purification). In Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis, such purification supports steadiness for Pāśupata-oriented restraint, japa, and meditation.

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

The verse itself is a tirtha-epithet catalogue rather than a doctrinal statement; however, in the Kurma Purana’s integrative theology, sacred waters and their merits are shared means of purification honored across Shaiva and Vaishnava paths, supporting non-sectarian dharma leading toward the same highest realization.