Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 44

Śrāddha-Kāla-Nirṇaya: Proper Times, Nakṣatra Fruits, Tīrtha Merit, and Offerings for Ancestral Rites

Devanagari script

कालशाकं महाशल्कं खङ्गलोहामिषं मधु / आनन्त्यायैव कल्पन्ते मुन्यन्नानि च सर्वशः

Transliteration

kālaśākaṃ mahāśalkaṃ khaṅgalohāmiṣaṃ madhu / ānantyāyaiva kalpante munyannāni ca sarvaśaḥ

Translation

Black leafy greens, large fish, flesh, honey, and the like—these are all classed as foods of the muni (ascetics), and are said to conduce to “ānantya,” the attainment of limitless spiritual fruition.

Word by Word

• kālaśākam: kāla-śāka (a dark leafy vegetable)
• kālaśākam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक) + śāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: kāla-śāka = ‘black/dark leafy-vegetable’

• mahāśalkam: mahāśalka (a large kind of fish/scale-fish)
• mahāśalkam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + śalka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); karmadhāraya: ‘great/large śalka’

• khaṅga-loha-āmiṣam: khaṅgalohāmiṣa (meat of khaṅgaloha)
• khaṅga-loha-āmiṣam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + loha (प्रातिपदिक) + āmiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa (multi-member): ‘meat/flesh of khaṅga-loha (a kind of fish/creature)’

• madhu: honey
• madhu: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• ānantyāya: for endlessness (inexhaustible merit)
• ānantyāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānantya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphasis/restriction

• kalpante: are fit/are prescribed/serve
• kalpante: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kḷp (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• munyannāni: foods of sages (ascetic foods)
• munyannāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: muni-anna = ‘sage’s food’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• sarvaśaḥ: in every way; altogether
• sarvaśaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvaśas (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय): ‘in every way/entirely’

Speaker

Sage (narrator/teacher) instructing on dharma and permitted foods for munis (ascetics), within the Purva-bhaga dharma discourse

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Muni (sage/ascetic)
• Dharma

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it frames disciplined sustenance (muni-āhāra) as supportive of “ānantya” (limitless spiritual fruition), implying that regulated living aids the contemplative pursuit that culminates in realization of the limitless Self.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes āhāra-niyama (discipline of food) as a practical foundation for tapas and meditation—an enabling condition for steadiness of mind in yogic practice, consistent with the Kurma Purana’s broader dharma-to-yoga progression.

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

It does not explicitly address Shiva–Vishnu unity; instead it supplies dharmic groundwork (ascetic regulation) that, in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, supports higher yogic realization where sectarian distinctions are transcended.