Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 9

Cosmic Night, Nārāyaṇa as Brahmā, and the Varāha Raising of the Earth

Devanagari script

पृथिव्युद्धरणार्थाय प्रविश्य च रसातलम् / दंष्ट्रयाभ्युज्जहारैनामात्माधारो धराधरः

Transliteration

pṛthivyuddharaṇārthāya praviśya ca rasātalam / daṃṣṭrayābhyujjahāraināmātmādhāro dharādharaḥ

Translation

Um die Erde emporzuheben, drang Er in Rasātala ein; und mit seinem Hauer hob Er sie empor — Er, die Stütze des Selbst von allem, Träger und Erheber der Welt.

Word by Word

• पृथिवी-उद्धरण-अर्थाय: for the purpose of lifting the earth
• पृथिवी-उद्धरण-अर्थाय: Sampradana/Prayojana (सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्धरण (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4 विभक्ति), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष; प्रयोजन-द्योतक (dative of purpose)

• प्रविश्य: having entered
• प्रविश्य: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√विश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having entered’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• रसातलम्: Rasātala (netherworld)
• रसातलम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रस (प्रातिपदिक) + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष

• दंष्ट्रया: with (his) tusk
• दंष्ट्रया: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दंष्ट्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3 विभक्ति), एकवचन

• अभ्युज्जहार: lifted up
• अभ्युज्जहार: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-उद्-√हृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• एनाम्: her/this (earth)
• एनाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2 विभक्ति), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• आत्म-आधारः: the support of himself/all (self-supporting)
• आत्म-आधारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + आधार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1 विभक्ति), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष

• धराधरः: the bearer of the earth
• धराधरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1 विभक्ति), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (Sūta/authorial voice) describing the divine act

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Varaha
• Earth (Pṛthivī)
• Rasātala

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By calling the rescuer “ātmādhāra” (the ground/support of the Self in all), the verse implies a transcendent Lord who is also the immanent basis of consciousness and existence—able to uphold the cosmos from within while acting in history through an avatāra.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No technique is directly prescribed in this verse; instead it provides a contemplative focus (ālambana) for devotion and meditation: the Lord as inner support (ātmādhāra) and cosmic protector—an idea later aligned in the Kurma Purana with disciplined worship, mantra, and yogic steadiness.

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

Though the scene is Vaiṣṇava (Varāha lifting Earth), the epithet “ātmādhāra” frames the deity as the universal inner ground—consistent with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where the Supreme is honored through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava idioms.