Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 34

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

Devanagari script

तस्य सर्वजगत्सूतिः शक्तिर्मायेति विश्रुता / तयेदं भ्रामयेदीशो मायावी पुरुषोत्तमः

Transliteration

tasya sarvajagatsūtiḥ śaktirmāyeti viśrutā / tayedaṃ bhrāmayedīśo māyāvī puruṣottamaḥ

Translation

Sa puissance—par laquelle l’univers entier est engendré—est renommée Māyā. Par cette même Māyā, le Seigneur, merveilleux maître de l’illusion, le Puruṣottama, fait tourner ce monde dans l’égarement.

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• सर्व-जगत्-सूतिः: the source of the entire universe
• सर्व-जगत्-सूतिः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + सूति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (determinative): सर्वस्य जगतः सूतिः ‘source/bringing-forth of all the world’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शक्तिः: power; energy
• शक्तिः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• माया: Māyā
• माया: सम्बोधन/नामनिर्देश (Naming/Quotation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (इति-पूर्वक नामनिर्देश)

• इति: thus; as
• इति: सम्बन्ध (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• विश्रुता: well-known; renowned
• विश्रुता: कर्तृ-विशेषण (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + श्रु (धातु) > विश्रुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘well-known’

• तया: by her; by that (power)
• तया: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• इदम्: this (world)
• इदम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• भ्रामयेत्: would delude; makes wander
• भ्रामयेत्: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; causative sense ‘to cause to wander/delude’ (भ्रामय-)

• ईशः: the Lord
• ईशः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मायावी: possessing māyā; magical
• मायावी: कर्तृ-विशेषण (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मायाविन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘possessing māyā’

• पुरुषोत्तमः: the Supreme Person
• पुरुषोत्तमः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष-उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास: पुरुषाणाम् उत्तमः ‘best among persons’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) speaking within the Ishvara Gita discourse

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Isha
• Purushottama
• Maya
• Shakti

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It presents the Supreme (Purushottama/Isha) as the sovereign reality whose power (Shakti) manifests the cosmos; the apparent wandering of beings arises from Māyā, not from any limitation in the Supreme Self.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse underscores a key yogic discernment used in Ishvara Gita-style teaching: recognizing Māyā as the Lord’s operative power behind worldly fluctuation, which supports viveka (discrimination) and vairāgya (dispassion) foundational to Pashupata-oriented and theistic yogic practice.

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

By using the universal title “Īśa” alongside “Puruṣottama,” it frames the Supreme Lord in a way compatible with both Shaiva and Vaishnava theology—one sovereign reality whose Shakti (Māyā) governs cosmic manifestation.