Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 43

Śrāddha-Kāla-Nirṇaya: Proper Times, Nakṣatra Fruits, Tīrtha Merit, and Offerings for Ancestral Rites

Devanagari script

संवत्सरं तु गव्येन पयसा पायसेन तु / वार्ध्रोणसस्य मांसेन तृप्तिर्द्वादशवार्षिकी

Transliteration

saṃvatsaraṃ tu gavyena payasā pāyasena tu / vārdhroṇasasya māṃsena tṛptirdvādaśavārṣikī

Translation

بِلبنِ البقرة تُنالُ الرِّضا سنةً كاملة؛ وكذلك باللبن وبالأرزّ الحلو المطبوخ في اللبن (باياسا). أمّا بلحمِ الفَرَاهَا (الخنزير البري) فيُقال إنّ الرِّضا يدوم اثنتي عشرة سنة.

Word by Word

• saṃvatsaram: for a year
• saṃvatsaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), adversative/emphatic

• gavyena: with cow-product (esp. cow’s milk)
• gavyena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• payasā: with milk
• payasā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: payas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• pāyasena: with rice-pudding (pāyasa)
• pāyasena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāyasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: and/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphatic

• vārdhroṇasasya: of the vārdhroṇasa (a kind of animal)
• vārdhroṇasasya: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārdhroṇasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• māṃsena: with meat
• māṃsena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tṛptiḥ: satisfaction, satiation
• tṛptiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• dvādaśa-vārṣikī: lasting twelve years
• dvādaśa-vārṣikī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या/अव्यय) + vārṣikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: dvādaśa-vārṣikī = ‘twelve-year(-long)’ qualifying tṛptiḥ

Speaker

Sūta (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya), within a discourse on dāna and food-merit in the Kurma Purana

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Cow (go)
• Milk (payas)
• Pāyasa
• Varāha (boar)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily dharma-oriented, describing graded results (tṛpti) from specific foods; it does not directly teach Ātman-doctrine, but reflects the Purāṇic idea that disciplined offerings shape one’s inner steadiness and merit.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit yoga technique is taught here; the practice implied is purity and restraint through right offering (dāna/anna), which the Kurma Purana treats as supportive discipline for higher sādhanā, including later yoga-oriented instructions elsewhere in the text.

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

It does not explicitly address Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; it belongs to a dharma section on offerings. In the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis, such dharma acts are presented as compatible supports for devotion and realization across Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava frameworks.