Shloka 25

Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas — Brahmahatyā, Association with the Fallen, and Tīrtha-Based Purification

Devanagari script

यत्र देवादिदेवेन भरवेणामितौजसा / कपालं स्थापितं पूर्वं ब्रह्मणः परमेष्ठिनः

Transliteration

yatra devādidevena bharaveṇāmitaujasā / kapālaṃ sthāpitaṃ pūrvaṃ brahmaṇaḥ parameṣṭhinaḥ

Translation

まさにその地において、いにしえ、測り知れぬ威力をもつバハーラヴァ—神々の中の最勝者—が、至高のパラメーシュティンたるブラフマーの頭蓋を安置したのである。

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb of place)

• देव-आदि-देवेन: by the primeval god (god of gods)
• देव-आदि-देवेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + आदि + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (देवानाम् आदिः देवः)

• भरवेण: by Bharava (name/epithet)
• भरवेण: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (नाम/epithet)

• अमित-ओजसा: with immeasurable power
• अमित-ओजसा: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमित + ओजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (ओजस्-शब्दः), तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (अमितम् ओजः यस्य)

• कपालम्: the skull
• कपालम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘स्थापितम्’ इत्यस्य कर्तृकर्मनिर्णयः—अत्र कर्म (that which was placed)

• स्थापितम्: was placed/installed
• स्थापितम्: Kriya (क्रिया/participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु) + णिच् (causative) + क्त
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) ‘स्थापित’ (caused to be placed); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘कपालम्’ इत्यनेन सह

• पूर्वम्: formerly/previously
• पूर्वम्: Kala (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• परमेष्ठिनः: of the Supreme Lord (epithet of Brahmā)
• परमेष्ठिनः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परमेष्ठिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘ब्रह्मणः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) recounting the tīrtha/kshetra-mahātmya within the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga frame

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Bhārava (Bhairava/Śaiva form)
• Brahmā (Parameṣṭhin)
• Kapāla (sacred skull)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly, it points to the Purāṇic vision where cosmic offices (like Brahmā as Parameṣṭhin) and fierce divine agencies (Bhārava) operate within a single sacred order; the Self is approached through sanctified places and symbols that turn the mind from the transient body toward the imperishable reality.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

This verse emphasizes tīrtha-oriented sādhanā: remembrance (smaraṇa), reverent contemplation (bhāvanā), and pilgrimage-based purification—supporting the Kurma Purana’s broader discipline of inner restraint and devotion that later culminates in the Ishvara Gita’s yoga-theology.

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

By foregrounding a Śaiva figure (Bhārava/Bhairava) within a Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa’s sacred-geography narrative, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance: sectarian forms differ, but sanctity and dharma converge in one overarching divine reality.