Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 45

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

Devanagari script

शूलशक्तिगदाहस्ताष्टङ्कोपलकरास्तथा / कालाग्निरुद्रसंकाशा नादयन्तो दिशो दश

Transliteration

śūlaśaktigadāhastāṣṭaṅkopalakarāstathā / kālāgnirudrasaṃkāśā nādayanto diśo daśa

Translation

Portant tridents, lances et massues, et tenant aussi gourdins et pierres, ils ressemblaient à Rudra, feu du Temps ; ils rugissaient, faisant retentir les dix directions.

Word by Word

• शूलशक्तिगदाहस्ताः: having tridents, spears, and maces in their hands
• शूलशक्तिगदाहस्ताः: विशेषण (Qualifier of Rudras)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शूल + शक्ति + गदा + हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि (येषां हस्तेषु शूल-शक्ति-गदाः सन्ति)

• अष्टङ्कोपलकराः: having hands with eight-marked stones/clubs
• अष्टङ्कोपलकराः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्ट + अङ्क + उपल + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि (येषां कराः अष्ट-अङ्क-उपल-युक्ताः/अष्टाङ्कोपलाः)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb: likewise)

• कालाग्निरुद्रसंकाशाः: resembling Kālāgnirudra
• कालाग्निरुद्रसंकाशाः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काल + अग्नि + रुद्र + संकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (कालाग्निरुद्रवत् संकाशाः = like Kālāgnirudra)

• नादयन्तः: making resound
• नादयन्तः: कर्ता (Agent performing action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नद् (धातु) + णिच् + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकर्तरि कृदन्त (present active participle/शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• दिशः: the directions
• दिशः: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), बहुवचन

• दश: ten
• दश: विशेषण (Numeral qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, अव्ययवत्/विशेषणरूपेण; द्वितीया-बहुवचनार्थे दिशः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (narrating to the sages) / Purāṇic narrator describing the scene

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Kālāgni

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly, it uses the image of Kālāgni-Rudra—time and dissolution—to hint that all manifest forms are transient, while the witnessing principle beyond fear and change (Atman/Iśvara) remains untouched.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit technique is taught, but the verse supports the Kurma Purana’s yogic ethos: cultivate vairāgya (dispassion) by contemplating impermanence (kāla) and mastering fear through steady awareness—an attitude aligned with Pāśupata-oriented inner fortitude.

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

By invoking Rudra as the archetype of cosmic power and terror within a Vaishnava Purana framework, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s synthesis: Shiva-Rudra imagery functions as an expression of the one supreme sovereignty revered across sectarian forms.