Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 11

Vānaprastha-Dharma: Forest Discipline, Vaikhānasa Austerities, and Śiva-Āśrama as the Liberative Refuge

Devanagari script

देवताभ्यश्च तद् हुत्वा वन्यं मेध्यतरं हविः / शेषं समुपभुञ्जीत लवणं च स्वयं कृतम्

Transliteration

devatābhyaśca tad hutvā vanyaṃ medhyataraṃ haviḥ / śeṣaṃ samupabhuñjīta lavaṇaṃ ca svayaṃ kṛtam

Translation

ആ ഹവിസ് ദേവതകൾക്ക് ഹോമമായി അർപ്പിച്ച ശേഷം, വനത്തിൽ നിന്നുള്ള കൂടുതൽ ശുദ്ധമായ ഹവിസിനെ യജ്ഞഭോജ്യമായി കരുതണം; പിന്നെ ശേഷിക്കുന്നതു സ്വയം തയ്യാറാക്കിയ ലവണത്തോടുകൂടെ ഭുജിക്കണം।

Word by Word

• देवताभ्यः: to the deities
• देवताभ्यः: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान/दत्ते), बहुवचन; Dative plural (to/for)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तत्: that (offering)
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Pronoun, Accusative singular

• हुत्वा: having offered (as oblation)
• हुत्वा: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘having offered’

• वन्यम्: forest-produced/wild
• वन्यम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective qualifying हविः

• मेध्यतरम्: more pure/fit for sacrifice
• मेध्यतरम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेध्यतर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक-विशेषण (comparative) qualifying हविः

• हविः: oblation
• हविः: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हविस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular (object of हुत्वा)

• शेषम्: the remainder
• शेषम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• सम्-उपभुञ्जीत: should partake/eat
• सम्-उपभुञ्जीत: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+उप+भुज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष? actually मध्यमपुरुष implied injunction; परस्मैपद, एकवचन; ‘he should partake’ (3rd sg optative used injunctively)

• लवणम्: salt
• लवणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लवण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular (as item to be taken)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; manner-adverb (by oneself)

• कृतम्: made/prepared
• कृतम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; agreeing with लवणम्

Speaker

Traditional narrator in a dharma-instruction passage (Kurma Purana’s prescriptive voice)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Havis (sacrificial offering)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by insisting on offering first and then consuming the purified remainder (śeṣa), the verse supports the Kurma Purana’s ethic of self-restraint and consecration—disciplines that purify the mind, making it fit to recognize the Atman beyond appetite and ego.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Āhāra-śuddhi (purity of intake) and yajña-śeṣa-bhojana (eating only what remains after offering) are emphasized as practical tapas supporting steadiness of mind—an auxiliary discipline aligned with the Purana’s broader yoga-ethics, including Pāśupata-oriented restraint and purity.

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

Not explicitly in wording; however, the shared dharma of consecrated offering and purified living is presented as a common spiritual foundation across Shaiva and Vaishnava paths in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis.