Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 104

Adhyāya 25 — Liṅga-māhātmya (The Chapter on the Liṅga): Hari’s Śiva-Worship and the Fiery Pillar Theophany

Devanagari script

एतद्धि परमं ज्ञानमव्यक्तं शिवसंज्ञितम् / येन सूक्ष्ममचिन्त्यं तत् पश्यन्ति ज्ञान वक्षुषः

Transliteration

etaddhi paramaṃ jñānamavyaktaṃ śivasaṃjñitam / yena sūkṣmamacintyaṃ tat paśyanti jñāna vakṣuṣaḥ

Translation

ഇതുതന്നെ പരമജ്ഞാനം—അവ്യക്തം, ‘ശിവ’ എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ അറിയപ്പെടുന്നത്. ജ്ഞാനചക്ഷുസ്സുള്ളവർ ഇതിലൂടെ ആ സൂക്ഷ്മവും അചിന്ത്യവും ആയ തത്ത്വത്തെ ദർശിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/कारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic/causal particle)

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ज्ञानम्: knowledge
• ज्ञानम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अव्यक्तम्: unmanifest
• अव्यक्तम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• शिवसंज्ञितम्: called ‘Śiva’
• शिवसंज्ञितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव + संज्ञित (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP) used adjectivally; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (शिव इति संज्ञितम्)

• येन: by which
• येन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• सूक्ष्मम्: subtle
• सूक्ष्मम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूक्ष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• अचिन्त्यम्: inconceivable
• अचिन्त्यम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अचिन्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पश्यन्ति: see
• पश्यन्ति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → पश्य (धातुरूप)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• ज्ञान: of knowledge
• ज्ञान: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद-रूपेण)

• चक्षुषः: (with) the eye
• चक्षुषः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्षुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in a Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Supreme Knowledge (Paramajñāna)
• Avyakta (Unmanifest)
• Jñāna-cakṣus (Eye of Knowledge)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It presents the Supreme Reality as avyakta (unmanifest), sūkṣma (subtle), and acintya (beyond thought), knowable not by ordinary senses but by jñāna—direct wisdom-vision.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse points to jñāna-yoga: cultivating the jñāna-cakṣus (eye of knowledge) through disciplined contemplation and inner stillness, by which the subtle, unmanifest Reality is directly ‘seen’.

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

By calling the supreme, unmanifest Knowledge “Śiva” within a Kurma (Vishnu) discourse, it expresses the Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: the highest Reality is one, named Śiva/Vishnu according to approach, realized through knowledge.