Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 89

Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany

Devanagari script

वक्त्रकोटिसहस्त्रेण ग्रसमान इवाम्बरम् / सहस्त्रहस्तचरणः सूर्यसोमाग्निलोचनः

Transliteration

vaktrakoṭisahastreṇa grasamāna ivāmbaram / sahastrahastacaraṇaḥ sūryasomāgnilocanaḥ

Translation

千万の口をもって、あたかも虚空そのものを呑み込むかのようであった。千の手と足を備え、その眼は太陽・月・火であった。

Word by Word

• वक्त्रकोटिसहस्त्रेण: with a thousand crores of mouths
• वक्त्रकोटिसहस्त्रेण: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्त्र + कोटि + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सहस्र), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (वक्त्राणां कोटि-सहस्रं येन)

• ग्रसमानः: devouring
• ग्रसमानः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रस् (धातु) → ग्रसमान (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक कर्तरि कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; धातु: ग्रस् (भक्षणे)

• इव: as if
• इव: उपमान (Simile marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (particle of comparison)

• अम्बरम्: the sky
• अम्बरम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• सहस्त्रहस्तचरणः: having a thousand hands and feet
• सहस्त्रहस्तचरणः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र + हस्त + चरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (सहस्रं हस्ताश्च चरणाश्च यस्य)

• सूर्यसोमाग्निलोचनः: whose eyes are the sun, moon, and fire
• सूर्यसोमाग्निलोचनः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूर्य + सोम + अग्नि + लोचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (सूर्य-सोम-अग्नयः लोचनानि यस्य)

Speaker

Narrator (Vyasa/Suta tradition) describing the Lord’s cosmic form as beheld by the devotee/sages in the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Supreme Lord (Īśvara)
• Sun (Sūrya)
• Moon (Soma)
• Fire (Agni)
• Cosmic Form (Viśvarūpa)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By portraying the Lord as the all-encompassing Viśvarūpa—so vast he “swallows the sky” and whose senses are cosmic lights—the verse points to the Supreme Self as the ground of all perception and all worlds, transcending limited individuality.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse supports viśvarūpa-dhyāna (meditation on the cosmic form): concentrating on the Lord as immanent in the luminaries (Sun, Moon, Fire) and as pervading space itself—an aid to ekāgratā (one-pointedness) and surrender (īśvara-praṇidhāna), aligning with Kurma Purana’s devotional-yogic synthesis.

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

Though framed in a Viṣṇu/Kūrma-centered narrative, the cosmic-Īśvara imagery is sect-transcending: the same Supreme is presented as the universal Lord beyond names, consistent with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava unity where one Reality appears through multiple divine forms.