Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 12

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

Devanagari script

वर्जयेन्मधुमांसानि भौमानि कवकानि च / भूस्तृणं शिग्रुकं चैव श्लेष्मातकफलानि च

Transliteration

varjayenmadhumāṃsāni bhaumāni kavakāni ca / bhūstṛṇaṃ śigrukaṃ caiva śleṣmātakaphalāni ca

Translation

മധുവും മാംസവും വർജിക്കണം; ഭൂമിജന്യമായ കവകങ്ങൾ (കൂൺ/ഫംഗസ്) മുതലായവയും ഒഴിവാക്കണം. ഭൂസ്തൃണം, ശിഗ്രു (മുരിങ്ങ) കൂടാതെ ശ്ലേഷ്മാതകഫലങ്ങളും വർജ്യമാണ്।

Word by Word

• वर्जयेत्: should avoid
• वर्जयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, तृतीयपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘should avoid’

• मधु: honey
• मधु: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (समाहारार्थे); in compound with मांसानि

• मांसानि: meats
• मांसानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; object of वर्जयेत्

• भौमानि: earth-grown (from the ground)
• भौमानि: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भौम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; adjective (earth-grown) qualifying understood खाद्यानि/कवकानि etc.

• कवकानि: mushrooms/fungi
• कवकानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; object of वर्जयेत्

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

• भूस्तृणम्: grass of the ground
• भूस्तृणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू + तृण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (भूः-सम्बन्धि तृणम्)

• शिग्रुकम्: śigruka (a plant/vegetable)
• शिग्रुकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिग्रुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; object of avoidance

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

• एव: indeed/also
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• श्लेष्मातकफलानि: fruits of the śleṣmātaka tree
• श्लेष्मातकफलानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्लेष्मातक + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (श्लेष्मातकस्य फलानि)

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

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing on dharma and observances

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kurma
• Vishnu
• Dharma
• Vratin

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it frames bodily discipline (āhāra-śuddhi) as supportive of inner purity, which the Kurma Purana treats as a prerequisite for steady knowledge of the Self and devotion to Īśvara.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It emphasizes āhāra-niyama (dietary restraint) as a practical niyama: avoiding foods considered tamasic/heavy or impurity-producing, thereby aiding clarity (sattva) for japa, dhyāna, and vrata-based sādhanā.

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

Though not explicit here, the instruction reflects the Purana’s shared dharmic-ascetic ethic revered across Shaiva and Vaishnava streams—purity and restraint as common ground for worship of Īśvara, whether approached as Shiva or Vishnu.