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Varaha Purana 40.1: Adhyaya 40, Shloka 1

Ritual Procedure for the Kūrma Dvādaśī Observance

दुर्वासा उवाच । तथैव पौषमासे तु अमृतं मथितं सुरैः । तत्र कूर्मो भवेद्देवः स्वयमेव जनार्दनः ॥ ४०.१ ॥

Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana 40.1

durvāsā uvāca | tathaiva pauṣa-māse tu amṛtaṃ mathitaṃ suraiḥ | tatra kūrmo bhaved devaḥ svayam eva janārdanaḥ || 40.1 ||

Durvāsā sprach: „Ebenso wurde im Monat Pauṣa von den Göttern das (Meer) gerührt, und das amṛta, der Nektar, wurde gewonnen. Dort wird der Gott selbst, Janārdana, zur Kūrma, der göttlichen Schildkröte.“

durvāsāḥDurvāsā (sage)
durvāsāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootdurvāsas (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ऋषिनाम
uvācasaid
uvāca:
Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
TypeVerb
Rootvac (धातु)
Formलिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन
tathāthus
tathā:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Adverbial)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottathā (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus/in that manner)
evaindeed
eva:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva (अव्यय)
Formअवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (indeed/just)
pauṣa-māsein the month of Pauṣa
pauṣa-māse:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location-time)
TypeNoun
Rootpauṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (pauṣasya māsaḥ)
tuindeed
tu:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Particle)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottu (अव्यय)
Formनिपात (indeed/but)
amṛtamnectar, ambrosia
amṛtam:
Karma (कर्म; passive subject)
TypeNoun
Rootamṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे कर्तृस्थानी (passive subject)
mathitamchurned
mathitam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Predicate adjective)
TypeVerb
Rootmanth (धातु) + kta (क्त-प्रत्यय)
Formभूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; amṛtam इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्
suraiḥby the gods
suraiḥ:
Karta (कर्ता; agent in passive)
TypeNoun
Rootsura (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; कर्तृ-करणभाव (agent in passive)
tatrathere
tatra:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Locative adverb)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottatra (अव्यय)
Formदेशवाचक-अव्यय (there/in that context)
kūrmaḥthe Tortoise (Kūrma)
kūrmaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootkūrma (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
bhavetwould be / becomes
bhavet:
Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
TypeVerb
Rootbhū (धातु)
Formविधिलिङ् (Optative/विध्यर्थ), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन
devaḥthe god
devaḥ:
Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण/Predicate nominative)
TypeNoun
Rootdeva (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; kūrmaḥ इत्यस्य समानाधिकरणम्
svayamhimself
svayam:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootsvayam (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; स्वकर्तृवाचक (oneself)
evaindeed
eva:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Emphasis)
TypeIndeclinable
Rooteva (अव्यय)
Formअवधारणार्थक-अव्यय
janārdanaḥJanārdana (Viṣṇu)
janārdanaḥ:
Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण/Predicate nominative)
TypeNoun
Rootjanārdana (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; devasya nāma, समानाधिकरणम्

Durvāsā

C
Classical Literature
P
Purāṇic Narrative
V
Vaiṣṇavism
C
Cosmology

FAQs

It preserves a Purāṇic retelling of the Samudra-manthana (churning of the ocean) motif, linking calendrical time (Pauṣa) with a well-known cosmological narrative and the Kūrma form of Viṣṇu.

No specific terrestrial location is named in this verse; the setting is the mythic-cosmological event of churning, traditionally associated with the ocean (samudra) rather than a mapped pilgrimage site.

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive; its philosophical emphasis is on divine agency expressed through adaptive embodiment (the deity ‘becoming’ Kūrma) within a cosmic process.

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