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Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 14

Kali-yuga Doṣas, the Supremacy of Rudra as Refuge, and the Closure of the Manvantara Teaching

शस्यचौरा भविष्यन्ति तथा चैलाभिमर्षिणः / चौराश्चौरस्य हर्तारो हर्तुर्हर्ता तथापरः

śasyacaurā bhaviṣyanti tathā cailābhimarṣiṇaḥ / caurāścaurasya hartāro harturhartā tathāparaḥ

سيكون لصوص يسرقون الزرع القائم، وكذلك من يختطفون الثياب. وسيسلب اللصوصُ لصوصًا آخرين، ويُسلب السالبُ بسالبٍ آخر—سرقةٌ تفترس سرقةً.

śasya-caurāḥthieves of crops
śasya-caurāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootśasya (प्रातिपदिक) + caura (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (śasyasya caurāḥ)
bhaviṣyantiwill be / will arise
bhaviṣyanti:
Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate)
TypeVerb
Rootbhū (धातु)
Formलृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद
tathāthus; likewise
tathā:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottathā (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः—उपपद/समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘thus/also’)
caila-abhimarṣiṇaḥplunderers of garments
caila-abhimarṣiṇaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootcaila (प्रातिपदिक) + abhimarṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (cailānām abhimarṣiṇaḥ)
caurāḥthieves
caurāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootcaura (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction ‘and’)
caurasyaof a thief
caurasya:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
TypeNoun
Rootcaura (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन
hartāraḥrobbers; takers away
hartāraḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Roothartar (प्रातिपदिक; कर्तृ-नाम)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन
hartuḥof the robber
hartuḥ:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
TypeNoun
Roothartar (प्रातिपदिक; कर्तृ-नाम)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन
hartāa robber (one who steals)
hartā:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Roothartar (प्रातिपदिक; कर्तृ-नाम)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन
tathālikewise
tathā:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottathā (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः—उपपद/समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय
aparaḥanother
aparaḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
TypeAdjective
Rootapara (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying an implied ‘hartā’)

Narrator (Purāṇic discourse describing Kali-yuga conditions, in the flow of the Kurma Purana dialogue tradition)

Primary Rasa: bibhatsa

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

K
Kali-yuga
D
Dharma
A
Adharma

FAQs

Indirectly: by portraying Kali-yuga as dominance of greed and mutual predation, it implies that forgetting the Atman (inner witness) leads to adharma; remembrance of the Self is the basis for restraint and dharmic conduct.

No specific technique is named in this verse; it functions as a diagnostic of Kali-yuga. In Kurma Purana’s broader teaching, such decline is countered by self-discipline (yama-niyama), devotion to Īśvara, and Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis practices associated with Pāśupata-oriented purification and dharma.

It does not explicitly mention Shiva or Vishnu; however, within the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian frame, the remedy for Kali-yuga disorder is devotion to the one Īśvara revered as both Hari and Hara, restoring dharma through unified theistic practice.