Uttara Bhaga Adhyaya 43 Shloka 57 - Kurma Purana | German | Vedapath

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Shloka 57

Naimittika-pralaya and the Theology of Kāla: Seven Suns, Saṃvartaka Fire, Flood, and Varāha Kalpa

Devanagari script

अनन्तस्तारको योगी गतिर्गतिमतां वरः / हंसः प्राणो ऽथ कपिलो विश्वमूर्तिः सनातनः

Transliteration

anantastārako yogī gatirgatimatāṃ varaḥ / haṃsaḥ prāṇo 'tha kapilo viśvamūrtiḥ sanātanaḥ

Translation

Du bist Ananta, der Unendliche; Tāraka, der Erlöser; der Yogin; das höchste Ziel und die beste Zuflucht aller, die das Ziel suchen. Du bist Haṃsa, das innere Selbst, das in allen sich regt; du bist Prāṇa, der Lebenshauch; du bist Kapila; du bist Der, dessen Gestalt das ganze Universum ist—ewig und uranfänglich.

Word by Word

अनन्तःthe Infinite (Ananta)

तारकःthe deliverer/savior

योगीthe yogin

गतिःthe refuge/goal

गतिमताम्of the moving/striving ones

वरःthe best

हंसःthe Hamsa (swan; supreme self)

प्राणःthe life-breath

अथthen/and

कपिलःKapila

विश्वमूर्तिःwhose form is the universe

सनातनःeternal

Speaker

A sage/narrator offering a stuti (hymn) to the Supreme Lord (Hari as Kurma/Narayana), in a Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis typical of the Kurma Purana

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

Ananta

Tāraka

Haṃsa

Prāṇa

Kapila

Viśvamūrti

Sanātana (the Eternal Lord)

FAQs

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

It portrays the Supreme as both transcendent (Ananta, Sanātana) and immanent (Prāṇa, Viśvamūrti, Haṃsa), indicating the one Reality as the inner Self and the cosmic form sustaining all beings.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse frames the Lord as the Yogin and as Haṃsa (linked with the so’ham contemplation), implying inward meditation on prāṇa and the indwelling Self as the direct means to realize the highest gati (liberating goal).

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

By using universal epithets (Yogin, Tāraka, Viśvamūrti) common to Shaiva and Vaishnava stutis, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: one Supreme Ishvara praised through multiple theological lenses.