Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

इत्येतत् परमं तीर्थं कालञ्जरमिति श्रुतम् / गत्वाभ्यर्च्य महादेवं गाणपत्यं स विन्दति

Transliteration

ityetat paramaṃ tīrthaṃ kālañjaramiti śrutam / gatvābhyarcya mahādevaṃ gāṇapatyaṃ sa vindati

Translation

Thus it is heard that this is the supreme sacred ford called Kālañjara. Having gone there and worshipped Mahādeva, one attains the status of being among Śiva’s attendants, the Gaṇas.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative)

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (एतद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; निर्देशक-सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (परम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (superlative: supreme)

• tīrtham: pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karta (कर्ता/predicative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (तीर्थ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kālañjaram: Kālañjara
• kālañjaram: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālañjara (कालञ्जर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; संज्ञा (proper name)

• iti: as
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative)

• śrutam: is heard/known
• śrutam: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (श्रु धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (impersonal) ‘is heard/known’

• gatvā: having gone
• gatvā: Kriya (क्रिया/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): having gone

• abhyarcya: having worshipped
• abhyarcya: Kriya (क्रिया/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-arc (अभि-अर्च् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund): having worshipped

• mahādevam: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• mahādevam: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādeva (महादेव प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (महान् देवः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case/accusative), एकवचन

• gāṇapatyam: the status of (being) Gaṇapati’s (i.e., gaṇapatya)
• gāṇapatyam: Karma (कर्म/object of vindati)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāṇapatya (गाणपत्य प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; फलवाचक (state/attainment of being Gaṇapati’s)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vindati: obtains
• vindati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (विद् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator/Sage (Purāṇic discourse describing tīrthas; speaker not explicit in the given verse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Kālañjara
• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Gaṇas

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it frames liberation-oriented merit through tīrtha and devotion to Mahādeva, implying that realization and highest good are approached via sacred space, right worship, and grace rather than mere ritualism.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes tīrtha-yātrā and abhyarcana (focused, reverential worship). In Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva framework, such acts support inner purification (citta-śuddhi), a prerequisite for deeper disciplines like Pāśupata-oriented meditation and renunciation.

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

Though the Kurma Purana is voiced within a Vaiṣṇava-Purāṇic setting, it affirms Śiva’s salvific power through Mahādeva worship—showing the text’s synthetic stance where devotion to Śiva is upheld as fully efficacious within the wider Purāṇic unity.