Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 10

Nine Creations (Sarga), Guṇa-Streams of Beings, and Brahmā’s Progeny in Cyclic Time

Devanagari script

ते च प्रकाशबहुलास्तमोद्रिक्ता रजोधिकाः / दुः खोत्कटाः सत्त्वयुता मनुष्याः परिकीर्तिता

Transliteration

te ca prakāśabahulāstamodriktā rajodhikāḥ / duḥ khotkaṭāḥ sattvayutā manuṣyāḥ parikīrtitā

Translation

Les humains sont décrits comme riches en clarté et en lumière, tout en étant encore touchés par l’obscurité (tamas). Avec la prédominance de rajas, ils sont enclins à une souffrance intense, bien qu’ils demeurent pourvus d’une part de sattva.

Word by Word

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय-निपात)

• prakāśa-bahulāḥ: abounding in light
• prakāśa-bahulāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prakāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + bahula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; adjective qualifying ते

• tamo-driktāḥ: tinged with darkness
• tamo-driktāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक) + drikta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; adjective; reading per IAST ‘tamodriktā’ = ‘mixed with/tinged by darkness’

• rajo-adhikāḥ: predominantly rajasic
• rajo-adhikāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rajas (प्रातिपदिक) + adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रthama), Plural; adjective

• duḥkha-utkaṭāḥ: intensely painful; full of suffering
• duḥkha-utkaṭāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + utkaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; adjective

• sattva-yutāḥ: endowed with sattva
• sattva-yutāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sattva (प्रातिपदिक) + yuta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; adjective: ‘endowed with sattva’

• manuṣyāḥ: humans
• manuṣyāḥ: Karta/Pratipādya (कर्ता/प्रातिपाद्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• parikīrtitāḥ: are declared/described
• parikīrtitāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari√kīrt (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त-कृदन्त); Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; predicate with manuṣyāḥ

Speaker

Narratorial voice (Purāṇic teaching context attributed to the Kurma Purana’s discourse tradition)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Guṇas (Sattva-Rajas-Tamas)
• Manuṣya (human beings)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By mapping human experience to guṇas—clarity (sattva), agitation (rajas), and darkness (tamas)—the verse implies that suffering and mental fluctuation belong to prakṛti; the Atman is understood as distinct from these changing qualities and is realized as guṇa-transcendent through purification.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse points to guṇa-śuddhi as a yogic aim: reducing rajas and tamas (sources of agitation and inertia) while cultivating sattva (clarity). In Kurma Purana’s broader yogic frame (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline), this supports practices like ethical restraint, regulated conduct, and contemplative steadiness that lessen duḥkha by stabilizing the mind.

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

While not naming Shiva or Vishnu directly, the guṇa-based analysis aligns with the Kurma Purana’s integrative theology: liberation is achieved by transcending guṇas through devotion and yoga as taught within a Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, where the supreme teaching leads beyond rajas-tamas into sattvic clarity and ultimately to the guṇa-transcendent reality.