Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 13

Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany

Devanagari script

काश्चिद् भूषणवर्याणि समादाय तदङ्गतः / स्वात्मानं बूषयामासुः स्वात्मगैरपि माधवम्

Transliteration

kāścid bhūṣaṇavaryāṇi samādāya tadaṅgataḥ / svātmānaṃ būṣayāmāsuḥ svātmagairapi mādhavam

Translation

وبعضُ العابداتِ أخذنَ حُليًّا نفيسًا من جسدِه، فتزيَّنَّ به؛ ثم بتلك الحُليّ التي هي لهنّ أيضًا زيَّنَّ ماذافا كذلك.

Word by Word

• kāścit: some (women)
• kāścit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• bhūṣaṇa-varyāṇi: excellent ornaments
• bhūṣaṇa-varyāṇi: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + varya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) ‘excellent ornaments’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Plural (बहुवचन)

• samādāya: having taken
• samādāya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + ā + dā (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), ‘having taken up’

• tad-aṅgataḥ: from his body
• tad-aṅgataḥ: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘tasya aṅgāt’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन)

• svātmānam: their own selves
• svātmānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘sva-ātman’; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhūṣayāmāsuḥ: adorned
• bhūṣayāmāsuḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhūṣ (धातु)
• Form: Causative (णिच्) bhūṣaya-, Liṭ-lakāra (लिट्, perfect), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन)

• svātma-gaiḥ: with their own (ornaments)
• svātma-gaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + ga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘svātmani gataiḥ/saṃbandhibhiḥ’; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Plural (बहुवचन)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्ध-बोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), additive/emphatic

• mādhavam: Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa)
• mādhavam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Suta (narrator) describing the devotees’ actions in the Kurma Purana narrative flow

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shringara

Characters & Entities

• Madhava (Vishnu)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By showing ornaments moving between the Lord and the devotees, the verse hints at intimacy and shared “belonging”: devotion treats the Lord as one’s very Self (svātma), while still honoring His transcendent lordship—an experiential bridge often used in Purana-yoga to approach the Paramatman.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The practice implied is karma-yoga expressed as bhakti-sevā: offering, adorning, and worshipful service (upacāra) performed with inward identification and reverence—an outer ritual that trains inner concentration, humility, and single-pointed devotion.

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

Though the verse names Mādhava (Vishnu), Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis reads such worship as īśvara-bhakti in general: the same Supreme is approached through different names and forms, with service (sevā) as the unifying discipline.