Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 187

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

Devanagari script

लक्ष्म्यादिशक्तिजननी शक्तिचक्रप्रवर्तिका / त्रिशक्तिजननी जन्या षडूर्मिपरिर्जिता

Transliteration

lakṣmyādiśaktijananī śakticakrapravartikā / triśaktijananī janyā ṣaḍūrmiparirjitā

Translation

Sie ist die Mutter, aus der die Kräfte hervorgehen, beginnend mit Lakṣmī; sie setzt das Rad der göttlichen Śakti in Bewegung. Sie ist Ursprung der dreifachen Śakti und doch selbst der unbedingte Urgrund, der die sechs Wogen weltlicher Erfahrung überschritten hat.

Word by Word

• lakṣmī-ādi-śakti-jananī: mother of powers beginning with Lakṣmī
• lakṣmī-ādi-śakti-jananī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-प्रयोग) + śakti (प्रातिपदिक) + jananī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः: ‘लक्ष्म्यादीनां शक्तीनां जननी’

• śakti-cakra-pravartikā: activator of the power-cycle
• śakti-cakra-pravartikā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक) + cakra (प्रातिपदिक) + pravartikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘शक्तिचक्रं प्रवर्तयति’ (one who sets the wheel of powers in motion)

• tri-śakti-jananī: mother of the three powers
• tri-śakti-jananī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक/संख्याशब्द) + śakti (प्रातिपदिक) + jananī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः: ‘त्रयाणां शक्तीनां जननी’

• janyā: born/produced; generable
• janyā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: janya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (born/produced; also ‘to be generated’)

• ṣaḍ-ūrmi-parirjitā: one who has overcome the six waves (afflictions)
• ṣaḍ-ūrmi-parirjitā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṭ (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या) + ūrmi (प्रातिपदिक) + parirjitā (कृदन्त; √ji जि ‘to conquer’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-तत्पुरुषः: ‘षडूर्मीन् परि-जितवती’ ; कृदन्तः भूतकर्मणि/क्त (past passive participle) from परि+√जि

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita discourse

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Lakṣmī
• Śakti
• Triśakti
• Ṣaḍūrmi

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By describing the supreme principle as the source of all śaktis yet untouched by the ṣaḍūrmis, the verse points to an Atman/Ishvara that is causally efficacious in the world while remaining transcendent and unbound by embodied fluctuations.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The emphasis is on overcoming the ṣaḍūrmis—an inner Yogic victory central to Pāśupata-oriented discipline: stabilizing awareness beyond hunger, thirst, grief, delusion, aging, and death through devotion, discrimination, and absorption in the supreme Śakti/Ishvara.

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

In Ishvara Gita style, the supreme is presented as the one source of all divine powers (including Lakṣmī) and as the transcendent Lord taught by Kūrma—supporting the Kurma Purana’s synthesis where sectarian forms are expressions of one non-dual, supreme reality.