Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16

Yuga-Dharma: The Four Ages, Decline of Dharma, and the Rise of Social Order

Devanagari script

आद्यं कृतयुगं प्रोक्तं ततस्त्रेतायुगं बुधैः / तृतीयं द्वापरं पार्थ चतुर्थं कलिरुच्यते

Transliteration

ādyaṃ kṛtayugaṃ proktaṃ tatastretāyugaṃ budhaiḥ / tṛtīyaṃ dvāparaṃ pārtha caturthaṃ kalirucyate

Translation

Das erste Zeitalter wird als Kṛta-Yuga verkündet; danach nennen die Weisen das Tretā-Yuga. Das dritte ist das Dvāpara, o Pārtha, und das vierte heißt Kali-Yuga.

Word by Word

• ādyaṃ: first
• ādyaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of kṛtayugam
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); ordinal adjective used substantively

• kṛta-yugam: Kṛta-yuga (Satya-yuga)
• kṛta-yugam: Karta (कर्ता) / subject of proktam
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa compound (kṛtaṃ yugaṃ)

• proktam: is declared
• proktam: Kriyā (क्रिया) / predicate
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु) with pra-; past passive participle (क्त)
• Form: Kta-participle (क्त), Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; passive sense ‘has been said/declared’

• tatas: thereafter
• tatas: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of sequence (ततः = thereafter)

• tretā-yugam: Tretā-yuga
• tretā-yugam: Karta (कर्ता) / subject (elliptic with proktam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tretā (प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa compound

• budhaiḥ: by the wise
• budhaiḥ: Kartṛ-karaṇa / Agent in passive (कर्तृ, तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: budha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन)

• tṛtīyam: third
• tṛtīyam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of dvāparam
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ordinal adjective used substantively

• dvāparam: Dvāpāra(-yuga)
• dvāparam: Karta (कर्ता) / subject (elliptic with proktam/ucyate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; (yuga understood)

• pārtha: O Pārtha
• pārtha: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन), Ekavacana

• caturtham: fourth
• caturtham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of kaliḥ (yuga implied)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ordinal adjective used substantively

• kaliḥ: Kali(-yuga)
• kaliḥ: Karta (कर्ता) / subject of ucyate
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; (yuga implied)

• ucyate: is called
• ucyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; Ātmanepada passive (कर्मणि प्रयोग)

Speaker

Narrator/Sage addressing the listener as “Pārtha” (didactic address within the Purāṇic discourse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Kṛta Yuga
• Tretā Yuga
• Dvāpara Yuga
• Kali Yuga
• Pārtha

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse does not define Ātman directly; it frames the cosmic setting of time (yugas) in which spiritual discipline and realization of the Self are pursued, implying that liberation-teachings operate within repeating cycles of ages.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is named in this verse; it provides the yuga-sequence that later passages use to explain how dharma, sādhanā, and authoritative disciplines (including Pāśupata-oriented and Vaiṣṇava devotion) vary in emphasis across different ages.

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

The verse is neutral on deity-relations and focuses on yuga order; in the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmological structuring supports a unified sacred framework in which both Śiva-oriented and Viṣṇu-oriented paths are taught for different temperaments and times.