Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 20

Gṛhastha Livelihood, Āpad-dharma, and Sacrificial Stewardship of Wealth

Devanagari script

धर्मश्चार्थश्च कामश्च श्रेयो मोक्षश्चतुष्टयम् / धर्माविरुद्धः कामः स्याद् ब्राह्मणानां तु नेतरः

Transliteration

dharmaścārthaśca kāmaśca śreyo mokṣaścatuṣṭayam / dharmāviruddhaḥ kāmaḥ syād brāhmaṇānāṃ tu netaraḥ

Translation

Dharma, Artha, Kāma et le Bien suprême—Mokṣa—sont enseignés comme les quatre buts de l’existence humaine. Pour les brāhmaṇas, le désir (kāma) ne doit être poursuivi que s’il ne contredit pas le dharma; autrement, non.

Word by Word

• धर्मः: dharma, righteousness
• धर्मः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• अर्थः: wealth, purpose
• अर्थः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• कामः: desire, pleasure
• कामः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• श्रेयः: the good, welfare
• श्रेयः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रेयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मोक्षः: liberation
• मोक्षः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• चतुष्टयम्: a set of four
• चतुष्टयम्: Vidhēya (विधेय/predicate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुष्टय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd; here predicate nominative), एकवचन

• धर्म-अविरुद्धः: not opposed to dharma
• धर्म-अविरुद्धः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अविरुद्ध (प्रातिपदिक; √रुध् with अवि- prefix, past participial adjective)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: ‘धर्मेण/धर्मस्य अविरुद्धः’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• कामः: desire (kāma)
• कामः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• स्यात्: should be
• स्यात्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ब्राह्मणानाम्: of Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक अव्यय (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• इतरः: other (i.e., any other kind)
• इतरः: Vidhēya (विधेय/predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इतर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (understood: ‘कामः’)

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) instructing King Indradyumna (contextual teaching on varṇāśrama-dharma)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Kūrma (Viṣṇu)
• Brāhmaṇa
• Mokṣa

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By placing mokṣa (the highest good) among the central aims, the verse implies that lasting fulfillment lies beyond artha and kāma—pointing toward Self-realization as the culminating purpose supported by dharma.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is named; the verse sets the ethical prerequisite for Yoga: regulating desire through dharma. In the Kurma Purana’s broader spiritual framework, such restraint and purity support later disciplines like devotion, contemplation, and Shaiva-Vaishnava integrated practice aimed at mokṣa.

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

It does not explicitly name Śiva or Viṣṇu, but it reflects the Purana’s integrative stance: dharma-governed living is presented as the shared foundation for liberation, a goal upheld across both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava paths in the Kūrma tradition.