Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 41

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

Devanagari script

प्रधानं पुरुषो माया माया चैवं प्रपद्यते / एका सर्वगतानन्ता केवला निष्कला शिवा

Transliteration

pradhānaṃ puruṣo māyā māyā caivaṃ prapadyate / ekā sarvagatānantā kevalā niṣkalā śivā

Translation

Pradhāna (la Nature primordiale), Puruṣa (le principe conscient) et Māyā—ainsi parle-t-on de Māyā. Pourtant, Elle est Une : tout‑pénétrante et sans fin, absolue et sans parties—Śivā, la Réalité suprême et bienfaisante.

Word by Word

• प्रधानम्: Pradhāna (primordial matter)
• प्रधानम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; abstract noun

• पुरुषः: Puruṣa (spirit/person)
• पुरुषः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• माया: Māyā (illusion/power)
• माया: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• माया: Māyā
• माया: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

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

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-viseshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक अव्यय (adverb: thus)

• प्रपद्यते: attains/enters/has recourse to
• प्रपद्यते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√pad (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• एका: one (single)
• एका: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; adjective used substantively

• सर्वगता-अनन्ता: all-pervading and endless
• सर्वगता-अनन्ता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva-gata + anantā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: सर्वगता (all-pervading) + अनन्ता (endless)

• केवला: alone/absolute
• केवला: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kevala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• निष्कला: partless/without divisions
• निष्कला: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niṣ-kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुष: निष् (without) + कला (part/portion)

• शिवा: Śivā (the auspicious Goddess)
• शिवा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śivā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; proper name/title

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching the Ishvara Gita in a Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Shiva (Śivā/Śiva-tattva)
• Maya (Māyā)
• Pradhana (Prakriti)
• Purusha (Puruṣa)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It points beyond the dual categories of Pradhāna (Nature) and Puruṣa (conscious principle) to the One all-pervading, infinite, partless Reality—called Śivā—indicating the Supreme as indivisible and absolute.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse supports a Pāśupata-oriented contemplation: discerning Māyā, Prakṛti, and Puruṣa as categories of experience, then meditating on the niṣkala (attribute-free, partless) Śiva-tattva as the ultimate object of realization.

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

With Lord Kūrma (a form of Viṣṇu) teaching the supremacy of Śiva-tattva as the non-dual, partless Absolute, the text frames Śiva and Viṣṇu in a unified theological vision where the highest reality transcends sectarian division.