Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 45

Dakṣa-yajña-bhaṅgaḥ — Dadhīci’s Teaching and the Destruction of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice

Devanagari script

शूलशक्तिगदाहस्ताष्टङ्कोपलकरास्तथा / कालाग्निरुद्रसंकाशा नादयन्तो दिशो दश

Transliteration

śūlaśaktigadāhastāṣṭaṅkopalakarāstathā / kālāgnirudrasaṃkāśā nādayanto diśo daśa

Translation

Bearing tridents, spears, and maces in their hands, and likewise grasping clubs and stones, they appeared like Rudra as the fire of Time, roaring so that the ten directions resounded.

Word by Word

• शूलशक्तिगदाहस्ताः: having tridents, spears, and maces in their hands
• शूलशक्तिगदाहस्ताः: विशेषण (Qualifier of Rudras)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शूल + शक्ति + गदा + हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि (येषां हस्तेषु शूल-शक्ति-गदाः सन्ति)

• अष्टङ्कोपलकराः: having hands with eight-marked stones/clubs
• अष्टङ्कोपलकराः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्ट + अङ्क + उपल + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि (येषां कराः अष्ट-अङ्क-उपल-युक्ताः/अष्टाङ्कोपलाः)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb: likewise)

• कालाग्निरुद्रसंकाशाः: resembling Kālāgnirudra
• कालाग्निरुद्रसंकाशाः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काल + अग्नि + रुद्र + संकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (कालाग्निरुद्रवत् संकाशाः = like Kālāgnirudra)

• नादयन्तः: making resound
• नादयन्तः: कर्ता (Agent performing action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नद् (धातु) + णिच् + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकर्तरि कृदन्त (present active participle/शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• दिशः: the directions
• दिशः: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), बहुवचन

• दश: ten
• दश: विशेषण (Numeral qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, अव्ययवत्/विशेषणरूपेण; द्वितीया-बहुवचनार्थे दिशः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (narrating to the sages) / Purāṇic narrator describing the scene

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Kālāgni

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly, it uses the image of Kālāgni-Rudra—time and dissolution—to hint that all manifest forms are transient, while the witnessing principle beyond fear and change (Atman/Iśvara) remains untouched.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit technique is taught, but the verse supports the Kurma Purana’s yogic ethos: cultivate vairāgya (dispassion) by contemplating impermanence (kāla) and mastering fear through steady awareness—an attitude aligned with Pāśupata-oriented inner fortitude.

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

By invoking Rudra as the archetype of cosmic power and terror within a Vaishnava Purana framework, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: Shiva-Rudra imagery functions as an expression of the one supreme sovereignty revered across sectarian forms.