Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 12

Prayāga-māhātmya and Ṛṇa-pramocana-tīrtha — Māgha-snāna, Austerities, and Release from Debts

Devanagari script

शतं वर्षसहस्त्राणि सोमलोके महीयते / ततस्तस्मात् परिभ्रष्टो राजा भवति धार्मिकः

Transliteration

śataṃ varṣasahastrāṇi somaloke mahīyate / tatastasmāt paribhraṣṭo rājā bhavati dhārmikaḥ

Translation

Pendant cent mille ans, il est honoré dans le monde de Soma (la Lune). Puis, lorsqu’il déchoit de ce séjour, il renaît en roi juste, établi dans le dharma.

Word by Word

• śatam: a hundred
• śatam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन) (used adverbially with time)

• varṣa-sahastrāṇi: thousands of years
• varṣa-sahastrāṇi: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘of years’), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Plural (बहुवचन) (time-span)

• soma-loke: in the Soma-world
• soma-loke: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: soma (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)

• mahīyate: is honored
• mahīyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mahī√ (धातु: √mah ‘to honor’)
• Form: Verb (तिङन्त), Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद), Passive/medio-passive sense: ‘is honored/glorified’

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla (काल/sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (अव्यय), ‘thereafter/from there’

• tasmāt: from that (place/state)
• tasmāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन)

• paribhraṣṭaḥ: fallen down/declined
• paribhraṣṭaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari√bhraś (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Past Passive Participle (क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• rājā: a king
• rājā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhavati: becomes/is
• bhavati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Verb (तिङन्त), Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• dhārmikaḥ: righteous
• dhārmikaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhārmika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन) (predicate adjective of rājā)

Speaker

Sūta (narrating the karmic results taught in the Kurma Purana’s dharma section)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Soma
• Raja

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It contrasts temporary heavenly honor (Soma-loka) with continued transmigration, implying that merit alone yields finite results; liberation requires knowledge and yoga that realize the Atman beyond such worlds.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is named in this verse; it functions as karmaphala teaching—showing why the Kurma Purana elsewhere recommends disciplined dharma, devotion, and yogic realization (including Pashupata-oriented restraint and contemplation) to go beyond cyclical rebirth.

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

It does not explicitly mention Shiva or Vishnu; indirectly, it supports the Purana’s synthesis by emphasizing that heavenly rewards are limited and that true freedom is attained through the higher, unified path of Ishvara-centered devotion and yoga taught across Shaiva–Vaishnava frames.