Shloka 44

Prākṛta-pralaya, Pratisarga Doctrine, and the Ishvara-Samanvaya of Yoga and Devotion

Devanagari script

भक्तियोगसमायुक्तः स्वधर्मनिरतः शुचिः / तादृशं रूपमास्थाय समायात्यन्तिकं शिवम्

Transliteration

bhaktiyogasamāyuktaḥ svadharmanirataḥ śuciḥ / tādṛśaṃ rūpamāsthāya samāyātyantikaṃ śivam

Translation

ഭക്തിയോഗത്തിൽ യുക്തനായി, സ്വധർമ്മത്തിൽ സ്ഥിരനായി, ശുചിയായി, അതുപോലെയുള്ള രൂപം ആശ്രയിച്ച് ശിവന്റെ സാന്നിധ്യത്തിലേക്ക് എത്തി, അന്തത്തിൽ അവനെയേ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• bhakti-yoga-samāyuktaḥ: endowed with bhakti-yoga
• bhakti-yoga-samāyuktaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + yoga (प्रातिपदिक) + samāyukta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: PPP (क्त) of sam-ā-yuj; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• sva-dharma-nirataḥ: devoted to one’s own duty
• sva-dharma-nirataḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + nirata (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: PPP-like adjective ‘engaged’; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• śuciḥ: pure
• śuciḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• tādṛśam: such
• tādṛśam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tādṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• rūpam: form
• rūpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• āsthāya: having assumed
• āsthāya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-sthā (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), indeclinable verbal (अव्ययभाव)

• samāyāti: comes/attains
• samāyāti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-yā (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्/present), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• antikam: near, close to
• antikam: Gati/Deśa (गति/देश)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन) (used adverbially ‘near/close’)

• śivam: Śiva
• śivam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) teaching in the Upari-bhāga’s Iśvara-Gītā-style discourse

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: shringara

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Bhakti Yoga
• Svadharma
• Pashupata (implied)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It implies a transformative approach to the Supreme: purity, devotion, and dharma mature the practitioner into a “corresponding form/state” (tādṛśa-rūpa), indicating assimilation to the divine mode of being and intimate proximity to Śiva as the highest reality.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Bhakti-yoga is primary, supported by svadharma (varṇāśrama discipline) and śauca (purity). The verse frames liberation/attainment not as mere knowledge alone but as devotional yogic integration leading to divine proximity—consistent with Pāśupata-oriented devotion in the Kūrma Purāṇa.

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

With Kūrma (Viṣṇu) teaching attainment of Śiva as the final goal, the text models Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis: the Vaiṣṇava avatāra instructs a path culminating in Śiva, reflecting a harmonized, non-sectarian Purāṇic theology.