Shloka 26

Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide

Devanagari script

चान्द्रायणं च कुर्वोत तस्य पापस्य शान्तये / ध्यायन् देवं जगद्योनिमनादिनिधनं परम्

Transliteration

cāndrāyaṇaṃ ca kurvota tasya pāpasya śāntaye / dhyāyan devaṃ jagadyonimanādinidhanaṃ param

Translation

Pour apaiser ce péché, on doit également entreprendre le vœu expiatoire Cāndrāyaṇa, tout en méditant sur le Seigneur Suprême — la matrice de l'univers — sans commencement ni fin, la Réalité la plus haute.

Word by Word

• cāndrāyaṇaṃ: the Cāndrāyaṇa vow/penance
• cāndrāyaṇaṃ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāndrāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (योजक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चय)

• kurvota: do/perform (you all)
• kurvota: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); parasmaipada; Vedic/epic form for कुरुत

• tasya: of that
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• pāpasya: of the sin
• pāpasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• śāntaye: for pacification
• śāntaye: Sampradāna/Purpose (सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śānti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular (एकवचन)

• dhyāyan: meditating
• dhyāyan: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhyai (धातु)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; from √ध्यै; agrees with implied agent

• devaṃ: God
• devaṃ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• jagad-yonim: the source of the universe
• jagad-yonim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): ‘source/womb of the world’; Masculine (or feminine yoni; here used as masculine epithet), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• anādi-nidhanaṃ: without beginning and end
• anādi-nidhanaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anādi (प्रातिपदिक) + nidhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva (समाहार-द्वन्द्व) used adjectivally: ‘beginningless and endless’; Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; agrees with devaṃ as epithet (neuter abstract/collective usage)

• param: supreme
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; ‘supreme’; epithet

Speaker

Sūta (narrating the dharma-teaching of the Kurma Purana in a prāyaścitta context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Cāndrāyaṇa
• Deva
• Jagadyoni (Supreme Lord)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It points to the Supreme as jagadyoni (source of the cosmos), anādinidhana (beginningless and endless), and param (supreme), indicating an ultimate reality beyond temporal limitation—fit to be realized through dhyāna.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Alongside ritual expiation (Cāndrāyaṇa), it prescribes dhyāna—steady contemplation of the Supreme Lord—showing the Kurma Purana’s pattern of combining karmic purification with inner yogic recollection of Īśvara.

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

By focusing on the one param deva as the universal source (jagadyoni), the verse aligns with the Purana’s non-sectarian stance: the Supreme contemplated in yoga transcends names and is approached through both Shaiva and Vaishnava frames.