Shloka 87

Cosmic Manifestation, Mahāmāyā’s Mandate, Varṇāśrama-Dharma, and the Unity of the Trimūrti

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मणो वचनात् पुत्रा दक्षाद्या मुनिसत्तमाः / असृजन्त प्रजाः सर्वा देवमानुषपूर्विकाः

Transliteration

brahmaṇo vacanāt putrā dakṣādyā munisattamāḥ / asṛjanta prajāḥ sarvā devamānuṣapūrvikāḥ

Translation

ബ്രഹ്മാവിന്റെ വചനപ്രകാരം അവന്റെ പുത്രന്മാരായ ദക്ഷാദി മുനിശ്രേഷ്ഠർ ദേവന്മാരെ ആദിയായി മനുഷ്യരെ വരെ എല്ലാ പ്രജകളെയും സൃഷ്ടിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• वचनात्: from the command/word
• वचनात्: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति (5th/अपादान-हेतु), एकवचन

• पुत्राः: sons
• पुत्राः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/कर्ता), बहुवचन

• दक्षाद्याः: Dakṣa and others
• दक्षाद्याः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्ष-आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (आदि-समास): दक्ष + आदि; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• मुनिसत्तमाः: the best sages
• मुनिसत्तमाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि-सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः/कर्मधारय-प्रायः: मुनिषु सत्तमाः (best among sages); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• असृजन्त: created
• असृजन्त: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृज् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्रजाः: creatures; progeny
• प्रजाः: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• देवमानुषपूर्विकाः: beginning with gods and humans (etc.)
• देवमानुषपूर्विकाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव-मानुष-पूर्विक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (निर्देश/विशेषण-समास): देव + मानुष + पूर्विक; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘देव-मानुष-आदि-पूर्वाः’ इत्यर्थे

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Vyāsa tradition) describing cosmogony within the Kurma Purana

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Daksha
• Prajapatis
• Devas
• Manushyas

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it presents creation as proceeding through Brahmā’s will/word and empowered progenitors, implying an ordered cosmos where individual beings arise within a higher, governing principle rather than by random chance.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yogic practice is taught in this verse; it supplies the cosmological groundwork that later supports Kurma Purana’s Yoga-shāstra discussions (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline in the Upari-bhāga).

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

Not explicitly; it emphasizes Brahmā and the Prajāpatis as agents of creation, a framework that the Kurma Purana later integrates with Shaiva–Vaishnava unity by grounding all functions (creation, maintenance, dissolution) in one supreme reality.