Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 11

Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle

Devanagari script

तस्य रश्मिसहस्त्रं तच्छीतवर्षोष्णनिस्त्रवम् / तासां चतुः शतं नाड्यो वर्षन्ते चित्रमूर्तयः

Transliteration

tasya raśmisahastraṃ tacchītavarṣoṣṇanistravam / tāsāṃ catuḥ śataṃ nāḍyo varṣante citramūrtayaḥ

Translation

彼（太陽）より千の光線が発し、冷えとなり、雨となり、熱となって流れ出る。そのうち四百はナーディー（nāḍī）という流路となり、驚くべき多様な姿を現して雨を注ぎ下ろす。

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/of that (Sun)
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• रश्मिसहस्रम्: a thousand rays
• रश्मिसहस्रम्: कर्ता/कर्म (contextual; subject of implied अस्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रश्मि (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (रश्मीनां सहस्रम्)

• तत्: that
• तत्: विशेष्य-निर्देश (deictic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• शीतवर्षोष्णनिस्त्रवम्: having outflow as cold, rain, and heat
• शीतवर्षोष्णनिस्त्रवम्: विशेषण (qualifier of रश्मिसहस्रम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शीत (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + उष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + निस्त्रव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व (शीतं च वर्षं च उष्णं च—निस्त्रवः)

• तासाम्: of those (rays/channels)
• तासाम्: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• चतुः: four
• चतुः: विशेषण (numeral qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या (numeral), अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (indeclinable-like in compound with शतम्)

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: कर्ता (subject with नाड्यः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; संख्या-शब्द

• नाड्यः: channels/streams
• नाड्यः: कर्ता (Karta)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाडी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन

• वर्षन्ते: rain down/flow down
• वर्षन्ते: क्रिया
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृष् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• चित्रमूर्तयः: of varied forms
• चित्रमूर्तयः: कर्ता (apposition to नाड्यः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (चित्रा मूर्तिः यस्याः)

Speaker

Vyasa (narrator) describing Purāṇic cosmology to the listening sages

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Surya
• Rashmi
• Nadi
• Varsha
• Ushna
• Shita

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it portrays cosmic order as structured and intelligible—suggesting an underlying governing principle; in Kurma Purana’s broader theology, such orderly manifestation is grounded in Īśvara, while the Atman is the inner witness distinct from these changing phenomena.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is prescribed in this verse; however, it supports a yogic contemplative approach (dhyāna) where the practitioner reflects on cosmic processes (sun, heat, rain) as regulated manifestations, cultivating viveka (discernment) and reverence for Īśvara’s ordinance.

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

This verse is cosmological rather than sectarian; in the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmic functions can be understood as operating under one supreme Īśvara—whether named as Hari or Hara—whose unified power sustains order in the world.