Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 24

Cosmic Night, Nārāyaṇa as Brahmā, and the Varāha Raising of the Earth

Devanagari script

तस्योपरि जलौघस्य महती नौरिव स्थिता / विततत्वाच्च देहस्य न मही याति संप्लवम्

Transliteration

tasyopari jalaughasya mahatī nauriva sthitā / vitatatvācca dehasya na mahī yāti saṃplavam

Translation

その奔流する水の大いなる塊の上に、大地は広大な舟のごとく堅くとどまった。主の御身が支えとなる広がりとして遍く伸びたゆえに、大地は宇宙の大洪水に沈まなかった。

Word by Word

• तस्य: of it/of him
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (Singular)

• उपरि: upon/above
• उपरि: अधिकरण (Locus marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उपरि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), देशवाचक (locative adverb/preposition)

• जलौघस्य: of the flood of water
• जलौघस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘जलस्य ओघः’ (flood of water)

• महती: great/large
• महती: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• नौः: boat
• नौः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नौ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन (Singular)

• इव: like/as if
• इव: सम्बन्ध (Comparative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-निपात (comparative particle)

• स्थिता: stood/was situated
• स्थिता: क्रिया (State)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (past participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विततत्वात्: because of (its) expansion
• विततत्वात्: हेतु (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वि + तन् (धातु)
• Form: भाववाचक-तद्धित/कृदन्त: ‘विततत्व’ (state of being spread/expanded), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति (Ablative/अपादान), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: सम्बन्ध (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• देहस्य: of the body
• देहस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: सम्बन्ध (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• मही: the earth
• मही: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• याति: goes/undergoes
• याति: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• संप्लवम्: submergence/flooding
• संप्लवम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संप्लव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन

Speaker

Suta (narrating the Kurma Purana account to the sages)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Kurma (the Tortoise-form of Vishnu as cosmic support)
• Earth (Mahī)
• Cosmic Deluge (Saṃplava)

More Details (5 sections)

FAQs

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

It presents the Supreme as the underlying support (ādhāra) that remains steady amid dissolution, implying an unshaken, sustaining reality beneath changing cosmic states.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse points to dhāraṇā in a cosmic sense—contemplating the Lord as the inner support of the world—an aid to steadiness of mind amid the ‘flood’ of sensations and change.

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

By emphasizing the one sustaining principle behind cosmic order, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian theology where the supreme support can be praised in Shaiva or Vaishnava terms without contradiction.