Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 15

Rudrakoṭi, Madhuvana, Puṣpanagarī, and Kālañjara — Śveta’s Bhakti and the Subjugation of Kāla

Devanagari script

वीक्ष्य राजा भयाविष्टः शूलहस्तं समागतम् / कालं कालकरं घोरं भीषणं चण्डदीधितिम्

Transliteration

vīkṣya rājā bhayāviṣṭaḥ śūlahastaṃ samāgatam / kālaṃ kālakaraṃ ghoraṃ bhīṣaṇaṃ caṇḍadīdhitim

Translation

その来臨を見て—手に三叉戟を執り、猛き光を燃え立たせる、死をもたらす恐るべきカーラ（時＝死）—王は恐怖に呑まれた。

Word by Word

• वीक्ष्य: having seen
• वीक्ष्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वीक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having seen’

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• भयाविष्टः: overcome by fear
• भयाविष्टः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक) + आविष्ट (कृदन्त; आ+विश् क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थः—‘भयेन आविष्टः’ (overcome by fear)

• शूलहस्तम्: trident-in-hand (one)
• शूलहस्तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शूल (प्रातिपदिक) + हस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—‘शूलं हस्ते यस्य’ (having a trident in hand)

• समागतम्: arrived/come
• समागतम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृतान्त (क्त-प्रत्यय; past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; qualifies the person seen

• कालम्: Kāla (Death/Time)
• कालम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; object of ‘seeing’

• कालकरम्: death-dealing
• कालकरम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘कालं करोति’/‘कालस्य करः’ (death-dealing/agent of time)

• घोरम्: dreadful
• घोरम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; adjective qualifying kālam

• भीषणम्: terrible
• भीषणम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; adjective qualifying kālam

• चण्डदीधितिम्: of fierce radiance
• चण्डदीधितिम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + दीधिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘चण्डा दीधितिः यस्य’ (having fierce radiance)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) describing the scene to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Characters & Entities

• Kāla (Time/Death)
• Rājā (the King)
• Śūla (trident)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By depicting Kāla as overwhelming and irresistible, the verse implicitly contrasts the perishable body-mind (that fears time and death) with the Atman, which is not slain by time; later Kurma Purana teachings direct the seeker to take refuge in the Lord and realize the deathless Self beyond Kāla.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

This verse itself is narrative, but it sets up the soteriological need that Pashupata-oriented discipline answers: steadiness in fear, contemplation on impermanence, and single-pointed devotion/meditation on Īśvara to transcend the terror of Kāla.

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

Kāla appears with Śaiva iconography (trident) within a Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa framework, reflecting Kurma Purana’s synthesis: the cosmic powers associated with Śiva (awe, dissolution, time) operate within the same supreme divine order revered as Viṣṇu/Kūrma.