Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 11

Īśvara-Gītā (continued): Twofold Yoga, Aṣṭāṅga Discipline, Pāśupata Meditation, and the Unity of Nārāyaṇa–Maheśvara

Devanagari script

प्राणायामस्तथा ध्यानं प्रत्याहारो ऽथ धारणा / समाधिश्च मुनिश्रेष्ठा यमो नियम आसनम्

Transliteration

prāṇāyāmastathā dhyānaṃ pratyāhāro 'tha dhāraṇā / samādhiśca muniśreṣṭhā yamo niyama āsanam

Translation

প্ৰাণায়াম, ধ্যান, প্ৰত্যাহাৰ আৰু তাৰ পিছত ধাৰণা; লগতে সমাধি—হে মুনিশ্ৰেষ্ঠ—যম, নিয়ম, আসন।

Word by Word

• प्राणायामः: breath-control
• प्राणायामः: कर्ता/उद्देश्य (enumerated item; nominal predicate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण (प्रातिपदिक) + आयाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: प्राणानाम् आयामः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तथा: also
• तथा: सम्बन्धसूचक (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय/अनुक्रमार्थक (likewise/also)

• ध्यानम्: meditation
• ध्यानम्: उद्देश्य (enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्यान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्रत्याहारः: withdrawal (of senses)
• प्रत्याहारः: उद्देश्य (enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रति (उपसर्ग) + आ (उपसर्ग) + √हृ (धातु) → प्रत्याहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अथ: then
• अथ: सम्बन्धसूचक
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अनुक्रमार्थक (then)

• धारणा: concentration
• धारणा: उद्देश्य (enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धारणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• समाधिः: absorption (samādhi)
• समाधिः: उद्देश्य (enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समाधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्धसूचक
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक

• मुनि-श्रेष्ठाः: O best of sages
• मुनि-श्रेष्ठाः: सम्बोधन (Address/Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी: मुनीनाम् श्रेष्ठाः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थेऽपि प्रयोगः (vocative sense possible)

• यमः: restraint (yama)
• यमः: उद्देश्य (enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• नियमः: observance (niyama)
• नियमः: उद्देश्य (enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• आसनम्: posture (āsana)
• आसनम्: उद्देश्य (enumerated item)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आसन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the sages (Ishvara Gita teaching, Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kurma
• Ishvara Gita
• Pashupata Yoga
• Aṣṭāṅga Yoga

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By listing the limbs leading to samādhi, the verse implies that direct realization of the Self/Iśvara is approached through disciplined inner purification and one-pointed absorption rather than mere ritual or speculation.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It enumerates the classical aṣṭāṅga framework: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi—presented as a coherent path aligned with the Kurma Purana’s Pāśupata-oriented discipline and devotion to Iśvara.

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

Though not naming them explicitly, the Ishvara Gita context frames Yoga as devotion to the one Supreme Lord (Iśvara) in a Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, where the same ultimate reality is approached through Pāśupata-yoga and the Lord’s instruction.