Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 25

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

Devanagari script

आकाशस्तु विकुर्वाणः स्पर्शमात्रं ससर्ज ह / वायुरुत्पद्यते तस्मात् तस्य स्पर्शो गुणो मतः

Transliteration

ākāśastu vikurvāṇaḥ sparśamātraṃ sasarja ha / vāyurutpadyate tasmāt tasya sparśo guṇo mataḥ

Translation

ആകാശം വികാരമേറ്റപ്പോൾ സ്പർശ-തന്മാത്രം മാത്രമേ സൃഷ്ടിക്കൂ. അതിൽ നിന്നു വായു ഉദ്ഭവിക്കുന്നു; അതിനാൽ സ്പർശം തന്നെയാണ് അതിന്റെ ഗുണം എന്നു കരുതുന്നു.

Word by Word

• ākāśaḥ: ether/space
• ākāśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्य-सम्बन्धक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• vikurvāṇaḥ: transforming
• vikurvāṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + kṛ (धातु) → vikurvāṇa (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sparśa-mātram: touch alone (mere touch)
• sparśa-mātram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sparśa + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—स्पर्श एव मात्रम् (कर्मधारय)

• sasarja: created
• sasarja: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sṛj (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ha: indeed
• ha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्य-सम्बन्धक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• vāyuḥ: wind/air
• vāyuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• utpadyate: arises/is produced
• utpadyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud + √pad (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद (passive/intransitive sense: ‘arises’)

• tasmāt: from that
• tasmāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• tasya: of it/of that
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• sparśaḥ: touch
• sparśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sparśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• guṇaḥ: quality
• guṇaḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानाधिकरण/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (sparśaḥ) इत्यस्य विधेय/समानााधिकरण

• mataḥ: considered/held to be
• mataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/विधेय-भाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √man (धातु) → mata (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘इति मतः’ = ‘is considered’

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic sarga-teaching in the Kurma Purana’s cosmology section

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Akasha
• Vayu
• Mahabhutas
• Tanmatras

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By mapping how gross elements arise from subtler principles, the verse implicitly distinguishes the changing tattvas (ākāśa, vāyu, guṇas) from the unchanging witnessing Self (Ātman), which is not a produced effect but the seer of all evolution.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

This supports tattva-vicāra (contemplation of principles): a yogin traces experience back from sensory qualities (like touch) to their subtle causes, cultivating dispassion and one-pointed meditation—an approach compatible with Kurma Purana’s Yoga-shastra orientation and later Pāśupata-leaning discipline.

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

Though not naming them, the teaching reflects a shared Purāṇic metaphysics used in both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava frameworks: the same cosmic order of tattvas is presented as governed by the one supreme Lord (Īśvara), allowing a non-sectarian synthesis characteristic of the Kurma Purana.