Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 21

Viṣṇu at Upamanyu’s Āśrama: Pāśupata Tapas, Darśana of Śiva, and Boons from Devī

Devanagari script

नदीनां तीरसंस्थानि स्थापितानि मुनीश्वरैः / लिङ्गानि पूजयामास शंभोरमिततेजसः

Transliteration

nadīnāṃ tīrasaṃsthāni sthāpitāni munīśvaraiḥ / liṅgāni pūjayāmāsa śaṃbhoramitatejasaḥ

Translation

Les grands sages établirent des lieux de tīrtha le long des rives des fleuves ; et il vénéra les liṅga de Śambhu (Śiva), dont l’éclat est sans mesure.

Word by Word

• nadīnām: of rivers
• nadīnām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (नदी प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tīra-saṃsthāni: bank-located sites/places
• tīra-saṃsthāni: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīra + saṃsthāna (तीर + संस्थान प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘tīre saṃsthānāni’ (situated on the bank), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• sthāpitāni: established
• sthāpitāni: Kriyā (क्रिया/Passive predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); passive sense ‘having been established’

• munīśvaraiḥ: by the lords among sages
• munīśvaraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni + īśvara (मुनि + ईश्वर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘munīnām īśvarāḥ’, Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Plural (बहुवचन)

• liṅgāni: liṅgas (Śiva-emblems)
• liṅgāni: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (लिङ्ग प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Plural (बहुवचन)

• pūjayāmāsa: worshipped
• pūjayāmāsa: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (पूज् धातु)
• Form: Periphrastic perfect (लिट्-परस्मैपद, आमास-योग), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• śaṃbhoḥ: of Śambhu (Śiva)
• śaṃbhoḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃbhu (शम्भु प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular (एकवचन)

• amita-tejasaḥ: of immeasurable splendor
• amita-tejasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amita + tejas (अमित + तेजस् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) ‘amitaṃ tejaḥ yasya’, Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing the acts of the sages/king in context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Munis (sages)
• Tirtha
• Shambhu (Shiva)
• Shiva-linga
• Rivers (nadī)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by praising Śambhu as “of immeasurable splendour,” the verse points to the transcendent, limitless divine reality that sages approach through sacred geography and worship—an outer support for realizing the inner, boundless Self.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes tīrtha-sevā (seeking and maintaining sacred places) and liṅga-pūjā (ritual worship of Śiva) as disciplined devotional practice—supportive of purification (śuddhi) and one-pointedness (ekāgratā), which are foundational to Yoga-oriented sādhanā in the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva framework.

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

By foregrounding Śiva worship within a Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance: devotion to Śambhu is affirmed as fully dharmic and spiritually efficacious, aligning with the text’s broader Shaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis.