Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 13

Divine Abodes on the Mountains — A Sacred Survey of Jambūdvīpa

Kailāsa to Siddha Realms

Devanagari script

तत्र हैमं चतुर्द्वारं वज्रनीलादिमण्डितम् / सुपुण्यं सुमहत् स्थानं ब्रह्मणो ऽव्यक्तजन्मनः

Transliteration

tatra haimaṃ caturdvāraṃ vajranīlādimaṇḍitam / supuṇyaṃ sumahat sthānaṃ brahmaṇo 'vyaktajanmanaḥ

Translation

Dort steht eine goldene Stadt mit vier Toren, geschmückt mit Diamant, Saphir und anderen Juwelen—eine überaus heilige und gewaltige Stätte Brahmās, dessen Ursprung unmanifest ist.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक)

• हैमम्: golden
• हैमम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: haima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (स्थानम्)

• चतुर्द्वारम्: four-gated
• चतुर्द्वारम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur+dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (चत्वारि द्वाराणि यस्य) विशेषणम् (स्थानम्)

• वज्रनीलादिमण्डितम्: adorned with diamond, sapphire, and other (gems)
• वज्रनीलादिमण्डितम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vajra+nīla+ādi+maṇḍita (प्रातिपदिक; √maṇḍ (धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; विशेषणम् (स्थानम्)

• सुपुण्यम्: very holy
• सुपुण्यम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su+puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (स्थानम्)

• सुमहत्: very great
• सुमहत्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su+mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (स्थानम्)

• स्थानम्: place; abode
• स्थानम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अव्यक्तजन्मनः: whose birth is unmanifest
• अव्यक्तजन्मनः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vyakta+janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (अव्यक्तं जन्म यस्य) विशेषणम् (ब्रह्मणः)

Speaker

Sūta (narrating the Kurma Purana’s account to the sages, describing the sacred cosmographic locale)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Avyakta (the Unmanifest)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By calling Brahmā’s origin “unmanifest” (avyakta), the verse points to a subtler causal reality behind visible creation—suggesting that manifest worlds arise from an unseen principle, aligned with Purāṇic Sāṃkhya-Vedānta language about the Avyakta.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No direct practice is prescribed in this line; instead it establishes a contemplative cosmological focus—meditation on the unmanifest source (avyakta) behind the manifest realm, a theme later harmonized in the Kurma Purana with devotion and disciplined Yoga.

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

This verse is primarily cosmographic and centers on Brahmā and the Avyakta; indirectly, it supports the Purana’s non-sectarian framework where creation proceeds from a transcendent, unmanifest principle that Shaiva and Vaishnava theologies both interpret as the Supreme.