Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

अधः शिरास्त्वयोधारामुर्ध्वपादः पिबेन्नरः / शतं वर्षसहस्त्राणि स्वर्गलोके महीयते

Transliteration

adhaḥ śirāstvayodhārāmurdhvapādaḥ pibennaraḥ / śataṃ varṣasahastrāṇi svargaloke mahīyate

Translation

Celui qui boit le flot en se tenant renversé—la tête en bas et les pieds levés—est honoré dans le monde céleste pendant cent mille ans.

Word by Word

• अधः: downwards; below
• अधः: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, दिशावाचक (downwards/below)

• शिराः: head
• शिराः: कर्ता-विशेष्य (Subject complement: head)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वेदिक/छान्दस रूप: शिराः = शिरः)

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विशेष/विरोधार्थक-निपात

• अयोधाराम्: a stream of iron (molten iron)
• अयोधाराम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayo + dhārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ayasya dhārā), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ऊर्ध्वपादः: with feet upwards (inverted)
• ऊर्ध्वपादः: कर्तृ-विशेषण (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva + pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (ऊर्ध्वौ पादौ यस्य सः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (नरः)

• पिबेत्: should drink
• पिबेत्: क्रिया (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• नरः: a man
• नरः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: कर्म-परिमाण (Measure/extent)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वर्षसहस्त्राणि)

• वर्षसहस्त्राणि: thousands of years
• वर्षसहस्त्राणि: कर्म (Object as duration/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (varṣāṇāṃ sahasrāṇi), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• स्वर्गलोके: in heaven-world
• स्वर्गलोके: अधिकरण (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (svargasya lokaḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• महीयते: is honored; is glorified
• महीयते: क्रिया (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √mah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense: is honored)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the Kurma Purana’s vrata/phala teaching within the chapter’s discourse

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Svarga

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse does not directly define Ātman; it presents a karma-phala (result of action) teaching, where disciplined bodily austerity yields heavenly honor, implying the Purana’s broader ethic that intentional practice shapes one’s post-mortem state.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It highlights an ascetic bodily observance (austerity/vrata) involving inversion while drinking from a water-stream—presented as a tapas-bearing discipline rather than a detailed meditative technique; in Kurma Purana style, such niyamas support purification that later matures into higher Yoga.

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

This specific verse is a phala-shruti about austerity and does not explicitly mention Shiva or Vishnu; in the Kurma Purana’s overall Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such tapas is generally framed as pleasing Īśvara (the one Lord) beyond sectarian division.