Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 29

Tāmasa Sarga, the Androgynous Division of Brahmā, and the Lineages of Dharma and Adharma

Devanagari script

इत्येष तामसः सर्गो जज्ञे धर्मनियामकः / संक्षेपेण मया प्रोक्ता विसृष्टिर्मुनिपुङ्गवा

Transliteration

ityeṣa tāmasaḥ sargo jajñe dharmaniyāmakaḥ / saṃkṣepeṇa mayā proktā visṛṣṭirmunipuṅgavā

Translation

وهكذا نشأت هذه الخليقة التامَسِيّة (tāmasa sarga)—قوّةٌ منظِّمة تُقوِّم الدهرما وتضبطها. لقد بيّنتُ بإيجاز مسار هذا الفيض، يا أكرمَ الحكماء من المونِيّين.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• eṣaḥ: this
• eṣaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tāmasaḥ: tamasic/dark
• tāmasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāmasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्गः इति विशेषणम्

• sargaḥ: creation/emanation
• sargaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• jajñe: arose/was born
• jajñe: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• dharma-niyāmakaḥ: regulator of dharma
• dharma-niyāmakaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + niyāmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (determinative) ‘धर्मस्य नियामकः’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्गः इति विशेषणम्

• saṃkṣepeṇa: briefly/in summary
• saṃkṣepeṇa: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkṣepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instr. 3), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (adverbial)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, तृतीया (Instr. 3), एकवचन

• proktā: was stated
• proktā: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra+vac (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त) ‘said/told’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विसृष्टिः इति विशेषणम्

• visṛṣṭiḥ: emanation/creation
• visṛṣṭiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: visṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• muni-puṅgavāḥ: O best of sages
• muni-puṅgavāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + puṅgava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (determinative) ‘मुनीनां पुंगवाः’; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Voc. 8), बहुवचन

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic teaching to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Tamas
• Sarga
• Visृष्टि (Visṛṣṭi)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it presents creation as an ordered manifestation governed by dharma, implying an intelligible cosmic principle behind the guṇa-based sarga rather than random material change.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is prescribed in this verse; it supplies cosmological context (tāmasa sarga and dharma-regulation) that later supports disciplined Yoga by grounding ethics (dharma) as a cosmic order.

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

It does not name Śiva or Viṣṇu explicitly; its emphasis on dharma as a regulating principle aligns with the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis where cosmic order is upheld through the one supreme reality revered in multiple forms.