Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 76

Viṣṇu at Upamanyu’s Āśrama: Pāśupata Tapas, Darśana of Śiva, and Boons from Devī

Devanagari script

नमस्ते प्राणपालाय घण्टानादप्रियाय च / कपालिने नमस्तुभ्यं ज्योतिषां पतये नमः

Transliteration

namaste prāṇapālāya ghaṇṭānādapriyāya ca / kapāline namastubhyaṃ jyotiṣāṃ pataye namaḥ

Translation

السلام لك يا حافظَ البرانا (الأنفاس الحيوية)، ولك يا من يطيب لك رنين الجرس. السلام لك يا كَبَالِين حاملَ الجمجمة، والسلام لك يا سيّد الأنوار كلّها والنيّرات.

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमस्कारार्थक-निपात

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; चतुर्थी/षष्ठी एकवचनरूप (ते); अत्र चतुर्थी (Dative) 'to you' (namas + te)

• prāṇa-pālāya: to the protector of life-breath
• prāṇa-pālāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + pāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (prāṇapāla = 'protector of life/breath')

• ghaṇṭā-nāda-priyāya: to the bell-sound-loving one
• ghaṇṭā-nāda-priyāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghaṇṭā (प्रातिपदिक) + nāda (प्रातिपदिक) + priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ('fond of the sound of a bell'); विशेषण

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• kapāline: to the skull-bearer
• kapāline: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapālin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमस्कारार्थक-निपात

• tubhyam: to you
• tubhyam: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• jyotiṣām: of the luminaries/lights
• jyotiṣām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyotis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive), बहुवचन

• pataye: to the lord
• pataye: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमस्कारार्थक-निपात

Speaker

A devotee/supplicant voice within the narrative (stuti addressed to Śiva, consistent with the Purāṇa’s Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Kapālin (Śiva)
• Prāṇa (vital breath)
• Jyotiṣām pati (Lord of luminaries)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By praising the deity as the protector of prāṇa and the lord of all lights, the verse points to the Supreme as both the inner life-principle sustaining beings and the illuminating consciousness behind all forms of brilliance—physical and spiritual.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The epithet “prāṇapāla” naturally aligns with prāṇa-sādhana (breath-discipline) in Yoga—steadying life-breath as a gateway to inner stillness—while the bell-sound motif supports mantra and nāda-oriented concentration used in temple and meditative worship.

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

Though the names are Śaiva (Kapālin), the theological tone matches the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance: the Supreme is praised through multiple divine forms and functions, supporting a non-sectarian, unity-oriented (Śiva–Viṣṇu abheda) devotional framework.