Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 15

Bāṇa’s Śiva-bhakti and the Genealogy of Kaśyapa’s Descendants

Manvantara Lineages

Devanagari script

आराध्य तपसा रुद्रं मह्देवं तथारुणः / सारथ्ये कल्पितः पूर्वं प्रीतेनार्कस्य शंभुना

Transliteration

ārādhya tapasā rudraṃ mahdevaṃ tathāruṇaḥ / sārathye kalpitaḥ pūrvaṃ prītenārkasya śaṃbhunā

Translation

Nachdem Aruṇa Rudra, den großen Gott, durch Askese verehrt hatte, wurde er einst von Śambhu—der an Arka, der Sonne, Wohlgefallen fand—zum Wagenlenker des Sonnengottes bestellt.

Word by Word

• ārādhya: having worshipped
• ārādhya: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-rādh (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), indeclinable verbal form; ‘having worshipped’

• tapasā: by austerity
• tapasā: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• rudram: Rudra
• rudram: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• mahādevam: Mahādeva
• mahādevam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; compound: mahā + deva (महान् देवः)

• tathā: thus/so
• tathā: Sambandha/Upapada (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (क्रियाविशेषण)

• aruṇaḥ: Aruṇa
• aruṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• sārathye: in the role of charioteer
• sārathye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sārathya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• kalpitaḥ: was appointed
• kalpitaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kalpita (कृदन्त; √kḷp/कल्प् धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular; used predicatively (‘was appointed/arranged’)

• pūrvam: formerly/before
• pūrvam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of time (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण)

• prītena: being pleased
• prītena: Hetu/Kāraṇa (हेतु/Cause)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prīta (कृदन्त; √prī/प्री धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त) used adjectivally; Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd), Singular; agrees with śaṃbhunā (instrumental agent) in sense ‘being pleased’

• arkasya: of the Sun
• arkasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• śaṃbhunā: by Śaṃbhu (Śiva)
• śaṃbhunā: Kartṛ-karaṇa / Agent in passive (कर्तृकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Singular

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (Sūta/Vyāsa tradition) recounting the account of Aruṇa and the Sun

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Mahadeva
• Aruṇa
• Arka (Surya)
• Śambhu (Śiva)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly, it presents the Purāṇic principle that tapas and devotion align the individual will with divine ordinance—suggesting a higher, governing reality that dispenses grace and assigns cosmic functions.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Tapas (austerity) is foregrounded as a core limb of Purāṇic sādhanā—akin to Pāśupata-oriented discipline where inner restraint and sustained practice become the means to obtain īśvara-prasāda (the Lord’s favor).

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

Though Viṣṇu is central to the Kurma Purāṇa, this verse emphasizes Śiva as a bestower of grace within the same sacred cosmos—reflecting the text’s synthetic outlook where divine functions operate harmoniously rather than competitively.