Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 12

Vānaprastha-Dharma: Forest Discipline, Vaikhānasa Austerities, and Śiva-Āśrama as the Liberative Refuge

Devanagari script

वर्जयेन्मधुमांसानि भौमानि कवकानि च / भूस्तृणं शिग्रुकं चैव श्लेष्मातकफलानि च

Transliteration

varjayenmadhumāṃsāni bhaumāni kavakāni ca / bhūstṛṇaṃ śigrukaṃ caiva śleṣmātakaphalāni ca

Translation

وليَجتنب العسل واللحم؛ وكذلك ما ينبت من الأرض كالفِطر وسائر الفطريات؛ وليجتنب أيضًا bhūstṛṇa (عشبٌ ينمو ملاصقًا للأرض) وśigruka (المورينغا) وثمار شجرة śleṣmātaka.

Word by Word

• वर्जयेत्: should avoid
• वर्जयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘should avoid’

• मधु: honey
• मधु: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (समाहारार्थे); in compound with मांसानि

• मांसानि: meats
• मांसानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; object of वर्जयेत्

• भौमानि: earth-grown (from the ground)
• भौमानि: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भौम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; adjective (earth-grown) qualifying understood खाद्यानि/कवकानि etc.

• कवकानि: mushrooms/fungi
• कवकानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; object of वर्जयेत्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• भूस्तृणम्: grass of the ground
• भूस्तृणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू + तृण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भूः-सम्बन्धि तृणम्)

• शिग्रुकम्: śigruka (a plant/vegetable)
• शिग्रुकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिग्रुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; object of avoidance

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• एव: indeed/also
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• श्लेष्मातकफलानि: fruits of the śleṣmātaka tree
• श्लेष्मातकफलानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्लेष्मातक + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (श्लेष्मातकस्य फलानि)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing on dharma and observances

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kurma
• Vishnu
• Dharma
• Vratin

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it frames bodily discipline (āhāra-śuddhi) as supportive of inner purity, which the Kurma Purana treats as a prerequisite for steady knowledge of the Self and devotion to Īśvara.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It emphasizes āhāra-niyama (dietary restraint) as a practical niyama: avoiding foods considered tamasic/heavy or impurity-producing, thereby aiding clarity (sattva) for japa, dhyāna, and vrata-based sādhanā.

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

Though not explicit here, the instruction reflects the Purana’s shared dharmic-ascetic ethic revered across Shaiva and Vaishnava streams—purity and restraint as common ground for worship of Īśvara, whether approached as Shiva or Vishnu.