Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 129

Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction

Devanagari script

हव्यवाहान्तरागादिः हव्यवाहसमुद्भवा / जगद्योनिर्जगन्माता जन्ममृत्युजरातिगा

Transliteration

havyavāhāntarāgādiḥ havyavāhasamudbhavā / jagadyonirjaganmātā janmamṛtyujarātigā

Translation

Elle est la clarté intérieure et le commencement primordial au cœur du Feu sacrificiel, et de ce Feu même elle naît. Elle est le sein de l’univers et la Mère des mondes : elle transcende naissance, mort et vieillesse.

Word by Word

• हव्यवाहान्तरागादिः: the beginning (etc.) of the inner passion of Agni (fire)
• हव्यवाहान्तरागादिः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हव्यवाह + अन्तराग + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘आदि’ अन्त-समास (one who is the beginning etc.)

• हव्यवाहसमुद्भवा: born from Agni (fire)
• हव्यवाहसमुद्भवा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हव्यवाह + समुद्भवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• जगद्योनिः: womb/source of the world
• जगद्योनिः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् + योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (योनि-शब्दः)

• जगन्माता: mother of the world
• जगन्माता: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् + माता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जन्ममृत्युजरातिगा: she who transcends birth, death, and old age
• जन्ममृत्युजरातिगा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्म + मृत्यु + जरा + अतिगा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (अतिगा = अति + गा ‘going beyond’)

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (as the Supreme Teacher of the Īśvara-gītā)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Havyavāha)
• Jagad-yoni (Cosmic Womb)
• Jagan-mātā (Mother of the Worlds)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By calling the deity the source (jagadyoni) yet beyond birth, death, and aging (janmamṛtyujarātigā), the verse points to an immanent cause of the cosmos that is simultaneously transcendent—like the Atman/Brahman that pervades manifestation without being conditioned by it.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse supports Pāśupata-style contemplation on the inner fire (antar-agni) and the sacrificial principle: the yogin internalizes yajña as disciplined awareness, meditating on the indwelling divine radiance as the source of the worlds while remaining unattached to bodily change (birth, decay, death).

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

In the Īśvara-gītā’s synthetic theology, the supreme reality taught by Kūrma (a Viṣṇu form) is described with Śaiva-Śakti cosmological language (Mother/Womb of the universe) while remaining transcendent—reflecting the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian unity of Śiva, Viṣṇu, and Śakti as one Īśvara.