Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 172

Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction

Devanagari script

वैराग्यज्ञाननिरता निरालोका निरिन्द्रिया / विचित्रगहनाधारा शाश्वतस्थानवासिनी

Transliteration

vairāgyajñānaniratā nirālokā nirindriyā / vicitragahanādhārā śāśvatasthānavāsinī

Translation

Sie verweilt in Vairāgya und wahrem Jñāna; jenseits allen Lichts (und aller Vergegenständlichung) und jenseits der Sinne. Ihre Stütze ist wundersam und unergründlich tief; sie wohnt in der ewigen Heimstatt.

Word by Word

• vairāgya-jñāna-niratā: absorbed in dispassion and knowledge
• vairāgya-jñāna-niratā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vairāgya (प्रातिपदिक) + jñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + nirata (कृदन्त; √ram/√rañj आसक्तौ/रतौ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन; कृदन्तः—‘nirata’ (past/passive sense ‘engaged/absorbed’); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (वैराग्ये ज्ञाने च निरता)

• nirālokā: without (external) light; unmanifest
• nirālokā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir- (उपसर्ग) + āloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन; नञ्/निर्-प्रत्ययार्थः—‘without’

• nirindriyā: without senses
• nirindriyā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir- (उपसर्ग) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन; नञ्/निर्-प्रत्ययार्थः—‘without’

• vicitra-gahana-ādhārā: whose support/foundation is wondrous and profound
• vicitra-gahana-ādhārā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vicitra (प्रातिपदिक) + gahana (प्रातिपदिक) + ādhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः/तत्पुरुषप्रायः (विचित्रं गहनं च यः आधारः/आधारा)

• śāśvata-sthāna-vāsinī: dwelling in the eternal abode
• śāśvata-sthāna-vāsinī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śāśvata (प्रातिपदिक) + sthāna (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsinī (कृदन्त; √vas निवासे, णिनि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom. 1), एकवचन; कृदन्तः—‘vāsinī’ (agent noun, feminine); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शाश्वते स्थाने वसति)

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing in the Ishvara Gita context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Kurma
• Ishvara Gita
• Pashupata Yoga
• Nirguna Brahman
• Atman

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It presents the Supreme as beyond sensory grasp and even conceptual “light,” yet as the eternal substratum—deep, unfathomable, and the final abode in which reality is grounded.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse foregrounds vairāgya (detachment) and jñāna (discernment) as core disciplines: withdrawing from sense-dependence (nirindriyā) and resting awareness in the deep substratum (ādhāra), consistent with the Ishvara Gita’s Pashupata-oriented contemplative path.

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

By describing the Supreme in trans-sectarian, nirguṇa terms (beyond senses and manifestation), it supports the Kurma Purana’s non-dual synthesis where Shiva- and Vishnu-devotion converge in the same highest Reality.