Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 97

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

Devanagari script

एतद् वः कथितं सर्वं दक्षयज्ञनिषूदनम् / शृणुध्वं दक्षपुत्रीणां सर्वासां चैव संततिम्

Transliteration

etad vaḥ kathitaṃ sarvaṃ dakṣayajñaniṣūdanam / śṛṇudhvaṃ dakṣaputrīṇāṃ sarvāsāṃ caiva saṃtatim

Translation

Así os he relatado por completo la destrucción del sacrificio de Dakṣa. Ahora escuchad también la descendencia—las líneas de sucesión—de todas las hijas de Dakṣa.

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/1 or द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); here as object-complement

• vaḥ: to you / for you
• vaḥ: Sampradāna/Sambandha (सम्प्रदान/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Genitive/Dative (षष्ठी/6 or चतुर्थी/4), Plural (बहुवचन); enclitic

• kathitam: told / narrated
• kathitam: Kriyā (क्रिया; भावे)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kath (धातु) → kathita (कृदन्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (कर्मणि भूतकृदन्त/क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/1 or द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); used predicatively: 'has been told'

• sarvam: all / entire
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/1 or द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with etat

• dakṣa-yajña-niṣūdanam: the destruction of Dakṣa’s sacrifice
• dakṣa-yajña-niṣūdanam: Karma/Apposition (कर्म; विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣūdana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/1 or द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); compound: dakṣasya yajñasya niṣūdanam (the slaying/destruction of Dakṣa's sacrifice)

• śṛṇudhvam: listen
• śṛṇudhvam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• dakṣa-putrīṇām: of Dakṣa’s daughters
• dakṣa-putrīṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + putrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Plural (बहुवचन); compound: dakṣasya putryaḥ (daughters of Dakṣa)

• sarvāsām: of all
• sarvāsām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with putrīṇām

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• eva: indeed / just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle/emphasis (अवधारण-निपात)

• saṃtatim: lineage / progeny / continuation
• saṃtatim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃtati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) speaking to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Daksha
• Daksha-yajna

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily narrative and transitional: it closes the account of Dakṣa’s sacrifice and introduces genealogical creation-lines. Its implied teaching is Paurāṇic—cosmic order unfolds through sanctioned lineages after disorder is corrected—rather than a direct exposition of Ātman.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yoga practice is taught in this verse. It functions as a structural pivot in the Purāṇa, moving from the ethical-theological episode of the yajña to creation-lineages; yogic instruction appears more explicitly elsewhere (notably in the Upari-bhāga’s Īśvara-gītā and related Pāśupata-oriented sections).

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

Indirectly: the ‘destruction of Dakṣa’s sacrifice’ is a classic Śaiva episode, yet in the Kūrma Purāṇa’s broader synthesis it serves to restore dharma and cosmic balance, aligning Śiva’s corrective power with the Purāṇic vision of a unified divine governance rather than sectarian opposition.