Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 3

Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany

Devanagari script

चतुर्बाहुमुदाराङ्गं कालमेघसमप्रभम् / किरीटिनं शार्ङ्गपाणि श्रीवत्साङ्कितवक्षसम्

Transliteration

caturbāhumudārāṅgaṃ kālameghasamaprabham / kirīṭinaṃ śārṅgapāṇi śrīvatsāṅkitavakṣasam

Translation

Man soll den vierarmigen Herrn betrachten, von edlen Gliedern, leuchtend wie eine regenvolle dunkle Wolke: gekrönt, den Śārṅga-Bogen in der Hand, und mit dem Śrīvatsa-Zeichen auf der Brust.

Word by Word

• caturbāhum: four-armed
• caturbāhum: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur-bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः—चतुर् + बाहु (four-armed)

• udārāṅgam: noble-bodied
• udārāṅgam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: udāra-aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः—उदारम् अङ्गम् (noble-limbed)

• kālameghasamaprabham: dark-cloud-like in splendor
• kālameghasamaprabham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāla-megha-sama-prabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः—कालमेघेन समा प्रभा यस्य (having radiance like a dark cloud)

• kirīṭinam: crowned
• kirīṭinam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kirīṭin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; मतुप्/इन्-प्रत्ययान्त (crowned)

• śārṅgapāṇim: Śārṅga-bow-in-hand (Viṣṇu)
• śārṅgapāṇim: Karma (कर्म—समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śārṅga-pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः—शार्ङ्गः धनुः पाणौ यस्य (he whose hand holds Śārṅga)

• śrīvatsāṅkitavakṣasam: with chest marked by Śrīvatsa
• śrīvatsāṅkitavakṣasam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrīvatsa-aṅkita-vakṣas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः—श्रीवत्सेन अङ्कितं वक्षः यस्य (whose chest is marked with Śrīvatsa)

Speaker

Narrator/Sage describing the prescribed dhyāna of Lord Viṣṇu (Nārāyaṇa) within the Kurma Purana’s devotional-yogic frame

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Narayana
• Vishnu
• Sharnga
• Shrivatsa

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By prescribing contemplation of Nārāyaṇa’s auspicious form and emblems, the verse points to the Supreme as a personal, luminous Reality accessible to meditation—an aid for realizing the inner Self through focused awareness.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It highlights dhyāna (meditative visualization): steady contemplation on the Lord’s form—four arms, cloud-like radiance, crown, Śārṅga, and Śrīvatsa—used to collect the mind (citta-ekāgratā) and deepen devotional absorption.

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

Though explicitly Vaiṣṇava in iconography, the Kurma Purana commonly frames such dhyāna as compatible with broader īśvara-upāsanā, supporting a Shaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis where devotion to the Supreme Lord is emphasized over sectarian opposition.