Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 19

Dakṣa-yajña-bhaṅgaḥ — Dadhīci’s Teaching and the Destruction of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice

Devanagari script

तमसाविष्टमनसो न पश्यन्ति वृषध्वजम् / सहस्त्रशो ऽथ शतशो भूय एव विनिन्द्यते

Transliteration

tamasāviṣṭamanaso na paśyanti vṛṣadhvajam / sahastraśo 'tha śataśo bhūya eva vinindyate

Translation

തമസ്സാൽ ആവൃതമായ മനസ്സുള്ളവർ വൃഷധ്വജനായ (ശിവനെ) ദർശിക്കുന്നില്ല. പകരം അദ്ദേഹം വീണ്ടും വീണ്ടും—ആയിരങ്ങളായും നൂറുകളായും—നിന്ദിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• tamasā: by darkness
• tamasā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया) singular (एकवचन)

• āviṣṭa-manasāḥ: whose minds were seized (by it)
• āviṣṭa-manasāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√viś (विश्, धातु) + kta → āviṣṭa (कृदन्त) + manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Bahuvrīhi (बहुव्रीहि) ‘āviṣṭaṃ manaḥ yeṣām’ = whose minds are possessed; Masculine nominative plural (प्रथमा बहुवचन)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; negation particle (निषेध-निपात)

• paśyanti: they see
• paśyanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश्, धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) plural (बहुवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• vṛṣa-dhvajam: the Bull-bannered one (Śiva)
• vṛṣa-dhvajam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘vṛṣaḥ dhvajaḥ yasya’ (bull as emblem); Masculine accusative singular (द्वितीया एकवचन)

• sahasraśaḥ: a thousandfold/in thousands
• sahasraśaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasraśas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; distributive adverb (प्रकारवाचक)

• atha: then/and
• atha: Sambandha/Sequence marker (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; connective particle (अनन्तरार्थक/समुच्चय)

• śataśaḥ: a hundredfold/in hundreds
• śataśaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śataśas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; distributive adverb (प्रकारवाचक)

• bhūyaḥ: again/further
• bhūyaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (पुनरर्थक)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; emphasis particle (अवधारण-निपात)

• vinindyate: is reviled/condemned
• vinindyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√nind (निन्द्, धातु)
• Form: Present passive (लट्, कर्मणि), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष) singular (एकवचन), Ātmanepada passive morphology

Speaker

Narratorial voice within the Purva-bhāga discourse (teaching context: condemnation of tamasic misunderstanding of Śiva)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Characters & Entities

• Vṛṣadhvaja (Śiva)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It implies that spiritual reality is not grasped by a tamas-covered mind; right perception of the Lord (here, Śiva as Vṛṣadhvaja) arises when ignorance is removed—pointing to the Upaniṣadic theme that the Self/Lord is known through purified awareness, not through obscured cognition.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse highlights the prerequisite for Yoga: reducing tamas (inertia, delusion) and cultivating clarity (sattva). In Kurma Purana’s broader Yoga-Dharma frame, this aligns with discipline, ethical restraint, and devotion that refine the mind so it can truly “see” the Lord.

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

By presenting reverence for Śiva as a mark of spiritual clarity and condemning tamasic revilement, it supports the Purāṇic synthesis where sectarian contempt is treated as ignorance—harmonizing devotion within the Shiva–Vishnu unity emphasized in the Kurma Purana.