Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 26

Svāyambhuva Lineage to Dakṣa; Pṛthu’s Devotion; Pāśupata Saṃnyāsa; Dakṣa–Satī Episode

Devanagari script

तत्र मन्दाकिनी नाम सुपुण्या विमला नदी / पद्मोत्पलवनोपेता सिद्धाश्रमविभूषिता

Transliteration

tatra mandākinī nāma supuṇyā vimalā nadī / padmotpalavanopetā siddhāśramavibhūṣitā

Translation

Là coule la rivière nommée Mandākinī, très méritoire et d’une pureté limpide, ornée de bosquets de lotus et de nénuphars, et embellie par les āśrama des siddha, les sages accomplis.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Deśa/Adhikaraṇa (देश/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• mandākinī: Mandākinī (river name)
• mandākinī: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mandākinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Naming marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नाम-शब्दः अव्ययीभावेन (indeclinable ‘named/called’)

• su-puṇyā: very holy, highly meritorious
• su-puṇyā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण of nadī

• vimalā: pure, spotless
• vimalā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vimala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण of nadī

• nadī: river
• nadī: Karta (कर्ता) / Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• padma-utpala-vana-upetā: adorned with lotus and water-lily groves
• padma-utpala-vana-upetā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of nadī
• Type: Adjective
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक) + utpala (प्रातिपदिक) + vana (प्रातिपदिक) + upeta (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √i with upa-)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (padmotpalavanena upetā = endowed with a grove of lotuses and water-lilies)

• siddha-āśrama-vibhūṣitā: adorned with siddhas’ hermitages
• siddha-āśrama-vibhūṣitā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of nadī
• Type: Adjective
• Root: siddha (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक) + vibhūṣita (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √bhūṣ with vi-)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (siddhānām āśramena vibhūṣitā = adorned by the hermitages of siddhas)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) describing the tīrtha-landscape to the assembled sages

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Mandākinī
• Siddhas
• Āśramas
• Padma (lotus)
• Utpala (water-lily)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by emphasizing purity (vimala) and sacred presence, it points to the Purāṇic idea that tīrthas and siddha-āśramas aid inner purification, making the mind fit to recognize the stainless Self (ātman) taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No technique is named, but the setting—siddha hermitages by a pure river—signals a yogic ecosystem: seclusion (āśrama), sādhus/siddhas, and tīrtha-snāna as supports for tapas, japa, dhyāna, and the Pashupata-oriented disciplines elaborated in other sections.

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

It does so implicitly through shared sacred space: the tīrtha landscape is presented as universally sanctifying, consistent with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where holy places and siddha traditions support devotion and realization beyond sectarian division.