Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 30

Cosmic Manifestation, Mahāmāyā’s Mandate, Varṇāśrama-Dharma, and the Unity of the Trimūrti

Devanagari script

या वेदबाह्याः स्मृतयो याश्च काश्च कुदृष्टयः / सर्वास्ता निष्फलाः प्रेत्यतमोनिष्ठाहिताः स्मृताः

Transliteration

yā vedabāhyāḥ smṛtayo yāśca kāśca kudṛṣṭayaḥ / sarvāstā niṣphalāḥ pretyatamoniṣṭhāhitāḥ smṛtāḥ

Translation

كلُّ السَّمْرِتي التي تخرج عن سلطان الفيدا، وكلُّ المذاهب ذات الرؤية المحرَّفة—فإنها جميعًا مُعلَنةٌ عديمةَ الثمرة؛ وبعد الموت تُفضي إلى الظلمة، لأنها قائمةٌ على التَّمَس (tamas).

Word by Word

• yāḥ: which (those)
• yāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); relative pronoun (सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम)

• veda-bāhyāḥ: outside the Veda
• veda-bāhyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + bāhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वेदस्य बाह्याः)

• smṛtayaḥ: smṛtis; traditions/texts
• smṛtayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural

• yāḥ: and which
• yāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; relative pronoun

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• kāḥ: whatever (any)
• kāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; interrogative used as indefinite with ca (किम्...च)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction/particle (समुच्चय/अन्वयबोधक)

• kudṛṣṭayaḥ: wrong views/doctrines
• kudṛṣṭayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ku-dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (कु + दृष्टिः)

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural

• tāḥ: those
• tāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; demonstrative pronoun

• niṣphalāḥ: fruitless
• niṣphalāḥ: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (मुख्य-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niṣphala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural

• pretya: after death
• pretya: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√i (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/gerund (क्त्वान्त अव्यय) from pra+√i; ‘having gone/after death’

• tamo-niṣṭha-āhitāḥ: set in darkness (tamas)
• tamo-niṣṭha-āhitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + āhita (कृदन्त, √dhā)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; समासः: (तमसि निष्ठा यस्य) + आहित (past passive participle, क्त) used adjectivally; overall sense ‘placed/established in tamas’

• smṛtāḥ: are regarded (as)
• smṛtāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त, कर्मणि) used predicatively; Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural agreeing with tāḥ; ‘are considered/are called’

Speaker

Sage (narrator-teacher) instructing within the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga dharma discourse (Veda as pramāṇa).

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Smriti
• Tamas

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it insists that reliable knowledge leading beyond darkness must be grounded in Vedic pramāṇa; without right authority, views become “fruitless” and do not conduce to liberating Self-knowledge.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No single practice is named; the verse sets a prerequisite for yoga-sādhana—right view (samyag-dṛṣṭi) based on Veda. In the Kurma Purana’s broader yoga-dharma frame, practices like devotion and Pāśupata-oriented discipline must rest on correct doctrine, not Veda-external speculation.

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

By prioritizing Vedic authority over sectarian or Veda-external views, it supports the Purana’s integrative stance: Shaiva and Vaishnava paths are validated when aligned with Veda-based dharma, rather than opposed as separate, self-made doctrines.