Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 18

Genealogies from Dakṣa’s Daughters: Ṛṣi Lines, Agni-Forms, Pitṛ Classes, and the Transition to Manu’s Progeny

Devanagari script

सर्वे तपस्विनः प्रोक्ताः सर्वे यज्ञेषु भागिनः / रुद्रात्मकाः स्मृताः सर्वे त्रिपुण्ड्राङ्कितमस्तकाः

Transliteration

sarve tapasvinaḥ proktāḥ sarve yajñeṣu bhāginaḥ / rudrātmakāḥ smṛtāḥ sarve tripuṇḍrāṅkitamastakāḥ

Translation

جميعهم قيل إنهم زُهّادٌ أهلُ تَـبَس؛ وجميعهم لهم نصيبٌ في القرابين (اليَجْنَ). وجميعهم يُذكرون بأنهم على طبيعة رودرا، وجباههم موسومة بثلاثة خطوط من الرماد المقدّس (تريپوندرَ).

Word by Word

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tapasvinaḥ: ascetics
• tapasvinaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapasvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• proktāḥ: are said/declared
• proktāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + vac (वच् धातु) + ta (क्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• yajñeṣu: in sacrifices
• yajñeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative, 7th), बहुवचन

• bhāginaḥ: sharers/participants
• bhāginaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāgin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• rudra-ātmakāḥ: of Rudra-nature
• rudra-ātmakāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative: 'having Rudra as essence'), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• smṛtāḥ: are considered
• smṛtāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (स्मृ धातु) + ta (क्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tripuṇḍra-aṅkita-mastakāḥ: having heads marked with three sacred stripes
• tripuṇḍra-aṅkita-mastakāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + puṇḍra (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅkita (अङ्कित प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त) + mastaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि-समास (possessive: 'whose heads are marked with three puṇḍras'), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator/Sage instructing on Shaiva observances (contextual teaching within the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Tripuṇḍra
• Yajña

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By calling the devotees “rudrātmakāḥ” (of Rudra’s nature), the verse points to identity-through-realization: the practitioner becomes aligned with (and reflects) the divine principle they worship, suggesting a transformative participation in Rudra-consciousness.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Tapas (austerity/discipline) and the external-saṃskāra of tripuṇḍra function together: inner heat of practice supported by a visible vow-marker, typical of Pāśupata-oriented Shaiva discipline, while remaining integrated with Vedic yajña culture.

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

Even while praising Rudra-bhakti, it keeps the devotees within yajña (a pan-Vedic framework often upheld by Vaiṣṇava narration in Purāṇas), reflecting the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: Shaiva marks and Rudra-identity harmonized with orthodox sacrificial dharma rather than set against it.