Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16

Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage

Devanagari script

तत्र देवो महादेवो रुद्रो विश्वामरेश्वरः / समास्ते भगवान् ब्रह्मा स्वयंभूरपि दैवदैः

Transliteration

tatra devo mahādevo rudro viśvāmareśvaraḥ / samāste bhagavān brahmā svayaṃbhūrapi daivadaiḥ

Translation

هناك يَتَصَدَّرُ الإلهُ مَهاديفا—رودرا، ربُّ الكون وربُّ الخالدين—؛ وهناك أيضًا يجلسُ بَرَكَةُ براهما، المولودُ بذاته، مع الآلهة.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण): ‘there’

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• mahā-devaḥ: Mahādeva
• mahā-devaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; appositional epithet

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; apposition

• viśva-amara-īśvaraḥ: lord of the universe and immortals
• viśva-amara-īśvaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + amara (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘lord of the universe and the immortals’ (apposition)

• samāste: abides
• samāste: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√ās (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person, Singular, Ātmanepada: ‘sits/abides’

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; honorific epithet

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• svayaṃ-bhūḥ: the self-born
• svayaṃ-bhūḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svayam (अव्यय) + bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; avyayībhāva: ‘self-born’ (epithet of Brahmā)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात): ‘also’

• daiva-daiḥ: with the boon-giving gods
• daiva-daiḥ: Sahakārī/Karaṇa (सहकारी/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiva-da (प्रातिपदिक; ‘giver of boons’)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural; ‘by/with the boon-givers’ (i.e., gods)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narration, traditionally Sūta/Vyāsa line)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Mahadeva (Shiva/Rudra)
• Brahma (Svayambhu)
• Devas (Daivataiḥ)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by portraying Rudra (Mahādeva) and Brahmā in a cosmic assembly, it frames the Purāṇic vision of divine governance where the Supreme principle is approached through īśvara-tattva—God as the ordering, presiding reality behind the cosmos.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit practice is taught in this verse; however, the depiction of Mahādeva as viśvāmareśvara (universal Lord) supports the Kurma Purana’s broader yoga-theology where īśvara-bhāvanā (contemplation of the Lord) and devotion to Rudra/Nārāyaṇa become a foundation for discipline later articulated in Pāśupata-oriented teachings.

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

By placing Rudra as the presiding Lord within the same sacred narrative stream that elsewhere features Viṣṇu/Kūrma as teacher, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance: sectarian forms differ, yet divine sovereignty is presented as harmonizable within a single Purāṇic theology.