Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 11

Genealogies from Dakṣa’s Daughters: Ṛṣi Lines, Agni-Forms, Pitṛ Classes, and the Transition to Manu’s Progeny

Devanagari script

पुत्राणां षष्टिसाहस्त्रं संततिः सुषुवे क्रतोः / ते चोर्ध्वरेतसः सर्वे बालखिल्या इति स्मृताः

Transliteration

putrāṇāṃ ṣaṣṭisāhastraṃ saṃtatiḥ suṣuve kratoḥ / te cordhvaretasaḥ sarve bālakhilyā iti smṛtāḥ

Translation

ಕ್ರತು ವಂಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಅರವತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ಪುತ್ರರು ಜನಿಸಿದರು. ಅವರು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಊರ್ಧ್ವರೇತಸರು, ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಚರ್ಯಪರಾಯಣ ತಪಸ್ವಿಗಳು; ಪರಂಪರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಬಾಲಖಿಲ್ಯರು’ ಎಂದು ಸ್ಮರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಾರೆ.

Word by Word

• putrāṇām: of sons
• putrāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• ṣaṣṭi-sāhastram: sixty thousand
• ṣaṣṭi-sāhastram: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + sāhastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (षष्टिः सहस्राणि = sixty-thousand) संख्या-विशेषण

• saṃtatiḥ: Samtati (name)/progeny
• saṃtatiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃtati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• suṣuve: gave birth
• suṣuve: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sū (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• kratoḥ: of Kratu
• kratoḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kratu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम

• te: they
• te: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• ūrdhva-retasaḥ: having upward semen (celibate)
• ūrdhva-retasaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक) + retas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि-समास (ऊर्ध्वं रेतः येषां ते)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• bālakhilyāḥ: Bālakhilyas
• bālakhilyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālakhilya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; गण/ऋषि-नाम

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/इति-चिह्न

• smṛtāḥ: are known as
• smṛtāḥ: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘are called/remembered’

Speaker

Sūta (traditional narrator) recounting Purāṇic genealogy in a sage-assembly context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Kratu
• Bālakhilyas

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by praising ūrdhvaretas (continence), it implies mastery of desire and the senses—classical prerequisites for inward knowledge that culminates in realizing the Self beyond body and lineage.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse highlights brahmacarya/ūrdhvaretas—sexual restraint and conservation of vital energy—treated in Yoga traditions as supportive of tapas, steadiness of mind, and higher contemplation.

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

It does not explicitly mention Shiva–Vishnu unity; it supports the shared ascetic ideal (tapas and brahmacarya) honored across Shaiva and Vaishnava streams within the Kurma Purana’s synthetic ethos.