Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 33

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

Devanagari script

प्रधानं पुरुषस्तत्त्वं महानात्मा त्वहङ्कृतिः / कालेनान्यानि तत्त्वानि समाविष्टानि योगिना

Transliteration

pradhānaṃ puruṣastattvaṃ mahānātmā tvahaṅkṛtiḥ / kālenānyāni tattvāni samāviṣṭāni yoginā

Translation

البرَधानا (الطبيعة الأولى) والبوروشا (الوعي) هما الأصولُ الأساسية؛ ومنهما ينبثق المَهَت (المبدأ العظيم، العقل الكوني) ثم الأَهَنْكارا (إحساس «أنا»). وبمقتضى الزمان تُسحَب سائرُ التَتْفَات وتندمج من جديد—على يد اليوغي العارف بطريق الامتصاص والاندراج.

Word by Word

• प्रधानम्: Pradhāna (primordial matter)
• प्रधानम्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पुरुषः: Puruṣa (spirit/person)
• पुरुषः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तत्त्वम्: principle; reality
• तत्त्वम्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• महान्: Mahat (the Great principle)
• महान्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘महान्’ = महत्-शब्दस्य प्रथमा एकवचन

• आत्मा: self; ātman
• आत्मा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तु: but; and indeed
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक अव्यय (adversative/emphatic particle)

• अहङ्कृतिः: ahaṅkāra; egoity
• अहङ्कृतिः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहङ्कृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कालेन: by Time
• कालेन: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• अन्यानि: other
• अन्यानि: कर्मणि-विशेषण (Adjectival to tattvāni)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• तत्त्वानि: principles; elements
• तत्त्वानि: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• समाविष्टानि: entered; pervaded; included
• समाविष्टानि: कर्मणि-विशेषण (Predicate/Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + विश् (धातु) > समाविष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• योगिना: by the yogin
• योगिना: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument/Agent in passive sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योगिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching Indradyumna (Ishvara Gita context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kurma
• Kāla (Time)
• Pradhāna (Prakriti)
• Puruṣa
• Mahat
• Ahaṅkāra
• Yogin

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It frames reality through tattvas—Pradhāna and Puruṣa as primary—and implies that the realized yogin can witness and effect the reabsorption of derived principles, pointing to a transcendent consciousness beyond Mahat and Ahaṅkāra.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes laya (reabsorption) through yogic realization: understanding the hierarchy of tattvas and, by disciplined Yoga, allowing the mind’s identifications (ahaṅkāra and its evolutes) to merge back through the power of Kāla into their source.

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

By teaching a shared yogic-cosmological framework (tattvas, Kāla, laya) within the Ishvara Gita spoken by Vishnu as Kurma, it supports the Purana’s synthesis: the same Supreme Ishvara—revered as Shiva in Pashupata idiom and as Vishnu in Vaishnava idiom—governs creation and dissolution.