Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 14

Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya

Devanagari script

यथा मदो नरस्त्रीणां यथा वा माधवो ऽनिलः / अनुप्रविष्टः क्षोभाय तथासौ योगमूर्तिमान्

Transliteration

yathā mado narastrīṇāṃ yathā vā mādhavo 'nilaḥ / anupraviṣṭaḥ kṣobhāya tathāsau yogamūrtimān

Translation

യഥാ മദം നരസ്ത്രീകളുടെ ചിത്തത്തെ ക്ഷോഭിപ്പിക്കുന്നു, യഥാ മാധവന്റെ വസന്തവായു അകത്തു പ്രവേശിച്ച് എല്ലാം ഇളക്കിമറിക്കുന്നു, തഥാ യോഗമൂർത്തിമാൻ ആ പരമതത്ത്വം അന്തർപ്രവേശം ചെയ്ത് ദേഹികളിൽ അന്തഃക്ഷോഭത്തിന് കാരണമാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction/comparative particle (उपमानवाचक अव्यय)

• madaḥ: intoxication, passion
• madaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/उपमेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• nara-strīṇām: of men and women
• nara-strīṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva (द्वन्द्व) compound; overall Feminine? actually genitive plural form strīṇām governs; Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Plural (बहुवचन)

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; comparative particle (उपमानवाचक)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; disjunctive particle (विकल्पार्थक)

• mādhavaḥ: spring (season of Mādhava)
• mādhavaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/उपमेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• anilaḥ: wind
• anilaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/उपमेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• anupraviṣṭaḥ: having entered into, having pervaded
• anupraviṣṭaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu + pra + √viś (विश् धातु)
• Form: Kridanta; Past passive participle (क्त/PPP), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• kṣobhāya: for agitation
• kṣobhāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣobha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Dative (चतुर्थी/4), Singular (एकवचन)

• tathā: so, likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; correlative adverb (तदर्थक)

• asau: that one (he)
• asau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• yoga-mūrtimān: possessing a yogic form
• yoga-mūrtimān: Karta (कर्ता/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yoga (प्रातिपदिक) + mūrti (प्रातिपदिक) + -mat (मतुप् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) compound yoga-mūrti; possessive adjective with matup (मतुप्); Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Narratorial voice of the Purana (contextual teaching within Purva-bhaga discourse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Yoga
• Mādhava (spring season)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It implies an indwelling, all-pervading principle that “enters within” and can set the inner field (mind and senses) into motion—showing the Lord/Ātman as the subtle power behind psychological turbulence in embodied life.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse foregrounds kṣobha (agitation) as the yogin’s obstacle; it points toward yogic restraint—pratyāhāra (withdrawal), dhāraṇā (steadying attention), and dispassion—as the means to master the stirred mind and senses.

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

By describing the Supreme as “yoga-mūrtimān” (Yoga embodied), it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology where the one Lord—revered through both Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms—governs inner transformation via Yoga.