Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 15

Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga

Devanagari script

ऋषीणां पुत्रका ये स्युर्युवानो जितमानसाः / अन्वगच्छन् हृषीकेशं सर्वे कामप्रपीडिताः

Transliteration

ṛṣīṇāṃ putrakā ye syuryuvāno jitamānasāḥ / anvagacchan hṛṣīkeśaṃ sarve kāmaprapīḍitāḥ

Translation

ഋഷിമാരുടെ യുവപുത്രന്മാർ, മനസ്സിനെ ജയിച്ചവരായിട്ടും, ഇന്ദ്രിയാധിപനായ ഹൃഷീകേശനെ പിന്തുടർന്നു; എങ്കിലും എല്ലാവരും കാമവേഗത്താൽ പീഡിതരായിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• ऋषीणाम्: of the sages
• ऋषीणाम्: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन (masc gen pl)

• पुत्रकाः: sons, young sons
• पुत्रकाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन (masc nom pl)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun, masc nom pl)

• स्युः: would be
• स्युः: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम् (would be)

• युवानः: young
• युवानः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युवन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन (masc nom pl); विशेषण—‘पुत्रकाः’ (young)

• जित-मानसाः: self-controlled (having conquered the mind)
• जित-मानसाः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जित (जि धातु, क्त/कृदन्त) + मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (जितं मानसं येषाम्) ‘whose minds are conquered/controlled’; ‘पुत्रकाः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (masc nom pl)

• अन्वगच्छन्: followed
• अन्वगच्छन्: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु + गम् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम् (they followed)

• हृषीकेशम्: Hṛṣīkeśa (Lord of the senses)
• हृषीकेशम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृषीक-ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (हृषीकाणाम् ईशः) (masc acc sg)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘पुत्रकाः’ (all)

• काम-प्रपीडिताः: oppressed by desire
• काम-प्रपीडिताः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक) + प्र + पीड् (धातु) + इत (क्त/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कामेन प्रपीडिताः) ‘afflicted by desire’; ‘पुत्रकाः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (masc nom pl)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Vyāsa tradition) describing events to the listening sages

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shringara

Characters & Entities

• Hṛṣīkeśa (Vishnu)
• Ṛṣis (sages)
• Sages’ sons

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By naming the Lord as Hṛṣīkeśa, it implies the Supreme governs and illumines the senses; when desire agitates the mind, turning toward the Lord is the movement from sensory compulsion toward the indwelling ruler (ātman/īśvara) who enables mastery.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse highlights jita-manas (mind-conquest) and the recognition of kāma as a klesha-like disturbance; the practical direction is sense-restraint (indriya-nigraha), cultivating vairāgya, and seeking īśvara’s refuge—foundational to Pashupata-oriented discipline and broader yoga-shāstra ethics.

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

Though Vishnu is named (Hṛṣīkeśa), the teaching is shared across Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis: desire binds the paśu (bound being), and liberation comes through the Lord’s grace and yogic restraint—an idea equally at home in Pashupata Shaivism and Vaishnava bhakti within the Kurma Purana.