Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 11

Time-Reckoning (Kāla-gaṇanā): Yugas, Manvantaras, Kalpas, and Prākṛta Pralaya

Devanagari script

एतद् द्वादशसाहस्त्रं साधिकं परिकल्पितम् / तदेकसप्ततिगुणं मनोरन्तरमुच्यते

Transliteration

etad dvādaśasāhastraṃ sādhikaṃ parikalpitam / tadekasaptatiguṇaṃ manorantaramucyate

Translation

ഇത് (ഈ ചക്രം) അല്പം അധികഭാഗത്തോടെ പന്ത്രണ്ടായിരം (വർഷം) ആയി നിർണ്ണയിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു; അതിന്റെ എഴുപത്തൊന്ന് ഗുണം ‘മന്വന്തര’മെന്ന് പറയുന്നു.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• द्वादशसाहस्त्रम्: twelve thousand
• द्वादशसाहस्त्रम्: Karma (कर्म/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादश + साहस्रम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-समास (Dvigu)

• साधिकम्: with an addition; plus
• साधिकम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण; ‘with an addition/plus’

• परिकल्पितम्: is set/arranged
• परिकल्पितम्: Karma (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + कल्प् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (कर्मणि क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘arranged/assumed/constructed’

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• एकसप्ततिगुणम्: seventy-onefold
• एकसप्ततिगुणम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक + सप्तति + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘एकसप्ततिः’ (71) इति संख्यापूर्वपद + ‘गुण’ (multiplied)

• मनोरन्तरम्: a manvantara (period of Manu)
• मनोरन्तरम्: Karta (कर्ता/विधेय-उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘मन्वन्तर’ (manu-period)

• उच्यते: is called; is said
• उच्यते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Suta (narrator) recounting the Purāṇic cosmology as taught by the sages

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Manu
• Manvantara

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it situates embodied life within vast, ordered cycles of time (Manvantaras), a Purāṇic framework that encourages discrimination between the timeless Self (Ātman) and time-bound cosmic processes.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is taught in this verse; it provides the cosmological time-scale that later supports Kurma Purana teachings on sādhana—discipline, dharma, and (in the Upari-bhāga’s Ishvara Gītā) yoga aimed at realizing the timeless reality beyond cyclical time.

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

It does not directly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; however, Kurma Purana’s synthesis typically presents a single cosmic order upheld by the Supreme, within which both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava streams interpret the same time-cycles as expressions of one Īśvara.