Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 31

Rudrakoṭi, Madhuvana, Puṣpanagarī, and Kālañjara — Śveta’s Bhakti and the Subjugation of Kāla

Devanagari script

नमो ऽस्तु ते गणेश्वर प्रपन्नदुः खनाशन / अनादिनित्यभूतये वराहशृङ्गधारिणे

Transliteration

namo 'stu te gaṇeśvara prapannaduḥ khanāśana / anādinityabhūtaye varāhaśṛṅgadhāriṇe

Translation

السجود لكَ، يا سيّد الغَنات (غانيشڤرا)، يا مُزيلَ حزنِ من احتمى بك. السجود لكَ، يا مَن ذاتُه أزليةٌ لا بدءَ لها ودائمة، يا حاملَ قرنِ الفاراهَا (الخنزير البري) شعارًا مقدّسًا.

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation; homage
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), interjection/particle of salutation (नमस्कारार्थक-निपात)

• astu: let it be
• astu: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्, imperative/benedictive), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथम), Eka-vacana (एकवचन); parasmaipada

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Eka-vacana (एकवचन)

• gaṇa-īśvara: O lord of the hosts
• gaṇa-īśvara: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: gaṇānām īśvaraḥ), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Eka-vacana (एकवचन)

• prapanna-duḥkha-nāśana: O destroyer of the sorrows of the surrendered
• prapanna-duḥkha-nāśana: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prapanna (कृदन्त; √pad/√prapad, past participle) + duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: prapannānāṃ duḥkhasya nāśanaḥ), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Eka-vacana (एकवचन)

• anādi-nitya-bhūtaye: to the beginningless, eternal glory/being
• anādi-nitya-bhūtaye: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anādi (प्रातिपदिक) + nitya (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (विशेषण-विशेष्य: anādi ca nityā ca bhūtiḥ), Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Eka-vacana (एकवचन)

• varāha-śṛṅga-dhāriṇe: to the bearer of a boar’s tusk/horn
• varāha-śṛṅga-dhāriṇe: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varāha (प्रातिपदिक) + śṛṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + dhārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: varāhasya śṛṅgaṃ dhārayati iti), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Eka-vacana (एकवचन)

Speaker

A Purāṇic narrator/ṛṣi reciting a devotional salutation (stuti) within the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Gaṇeśvara (Gaṇeśa)
• Varāha (Boar-emblem)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By calling the deity “beginningless and eternal in being” (anādi-nitya-bhūti), the verse points to a timeless, unoriginated reality—an Atman/Iśvara principle not limited by birth or decay.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes śaraṇāgati (surrender) as a foundational discipline: taking refuge in Iśvara removes duḥkha and clears obstacles, preparing the mind for steadiness (dhyāna) and higher yogic practice taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana (including Pāśupata-oriented themes).

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

By praising Gaṇeśa (a Śaiva deity) while invoking a Varāha emblem (a strongly Vaiṣṇava sign), the verse reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative approach—devotion across forms while affirming a shared, transcendent divine ground.