Shloka 114

Prāyaścitta for Theft, Forbidden Foods, Impurity, and Ritual Lapses; Tīrtha–Vrata Remedies; Pativratā Mahātmyam via Sītā and Agni

Devanagari script

गृहीत्वा मायया वेषं चरन्तीं विजने वने / समाहर्तुं मतिं चक्रे तापसः किल कामिनीम्

Transliteration

gṛhītvā māyayā veṣaṃ carantīṃ vijane vane / samāhartuṃ matiṃ cakre tāpasaḥ kila kāminīm

Translation

Durch māyā nahm sie eine Verkleidung an und wanderte im einsamen Wald umher; und der Asket—so wird berichtet—fasste in seinem Sinn den Entschluss, sich zu nähern und jene betörende Frau für sich zu gewinnen.

Word by Word

• गृहीत्वा: having taken/assumed
• गृहीत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया/Absolutive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund/absolutive): ‘having taken’

• मायया: by magic/illusion
• मायया: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• वेषम्: disguise/guise
• वेषम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• चरन्तीम्: wandering
• चरन्तीम्: Karma (कर्म/Object qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/न्त-प्रत्यय: चरन्ती), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मपद-विशेषणम्

• विजने: in a lonely (place)
• विजने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘vane’)

• वने: in the forest
• वने: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• समाहर्तुम्: to abduct/carry off
• समाहर्तुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-हृ (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), उपसर्गौ ‘सम्-आ’; ‘to seize/carry off’

• मतिम्: intention/plan
• मतिम्: Karma (कर्म/Object; ‘plan/intent’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• चक्रे: made/formed
• चक्रे: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• तापसः: the ascetic (in disguise)
• तापसः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तापस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• किल: indeed/it is said
• किल: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किल (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; प्रसिद्ध्यर्थ/अनुश्रव (particle: indeed/it is said)

• कामिनीम्: the desirable woman
• कामिनीम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कामिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘चरन्तीम्’ इत्यस्य समानाधिकरण-विशेष्य

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narration within the Kurma Purana’s story-flow; speaker not explicit in this single verse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Characters & Entities

• Māyā
• Tāpasa (ascetic)
• Kāminī (alluring woman)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By highlighting māyā’s power to distort perception and provoke desire, the verse implies that Self-knowledge requires seeing beyond appearances; the Atman is not swayed by such guises, but the untrained mind is.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse points to the necessity of indriya-nigraha (sense-restraint) and citta-śuddhi (purification of mind). In the Kurma Purana’s yogic ethic (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline), temptation becomes a test of vairāgya and steadiness in tapas.

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

Indirectly: the shared Purāṇic teaching is that liberation depends on conquering māyā and kāma through yoga and dharma—principles affirmed across both Shaiva and Vaishnava streams in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis.