Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 9

Prayāga-māhātmya and Ṛṇa-pramocana-tīrtha — Māgha-snāna, Austerities, and Release from Debts

Devanagari script

अधः शिरास्त्वयोधारामुर्ध्वपादः पिबेन्नरः / शतं वर्षसहस्त्राणि स्वर्गलोके महीयते

Transliteration

adhaḥ śirāstvayodhārāmurdhvapādaḥ pibennaraḥ / śataṃ varṣasahastrāṇi svargaloke mahīyate

Translation

जो मनुष्य उलटा उभा राहून—डोके खाली व पाय वर—धारेचे पाणी पितो, तो स्वर्गलोकी एक लक्ष वर्षे मान पावतो।

Word by Word

• अधः: downwards; below
• अधः: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय, दिशावाचक (downwards/below)

• शिराः: head
• शिराः: कर्ता-विशेष्य (Subject complement: head)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वेदिक/छान्दस रूप: शिराः = शिरः)

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विशेष/विरोधार्थक-निपात

• अयोधाराम्: a stream of iron (molten iron)
• अयोधाराम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ayo + dhārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ayasya dhārā), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ऊर्ध्वपादः: with feet upwards (inverted)
• ऊर्ध्वपादः: कर्तृ-विशेषण (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva + pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (ऊर्ध्वौ पादौ यस्य सः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (नरः)

• पिबेत्: should drink
• पिबेत्: क्रिया (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• नरः: a man
• नरः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: कर्म-परिमाण (Measure/extent)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śata (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वर्षसहस्त्राणि)

• वर्षसहस्त्राणि: thousands of years
• वर्षसहस्त्राणि: कर्म (Object as duration/extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (varṣāṇāṃ sahasrāṇi), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• स्वर्गलोके: in heaven-world
• स्वर्गलोके: अधिकरण (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (svargasya lokaḥ), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• महीयते: is honored; is glorified
• महीयते: क्रिया (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √mah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense: is honored)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the Kurma Purana’s vrata/phala teaching within the chapter’s discourse

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Svarga

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse does not directly define Ātman; it presents a karma-phala (result of action) teaching, where disciplined bodily austerity yields heavenly honor, implying the Purana’s broader ethic that intentional practice shapes one’s post-mortem state.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It highlights an ascetic bodily observance (austerity/vrata) involving inversion while drinking from a water-stream—presented as a tapas-bearing discipline rather than a detailed meditative technique; in Kurma Purana style, such niyamas support purification that later matures into higher Yoga.

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

This specific verse is a phala-shruti about austerity and does not explicitly mention Shiva or Vishnu; in the Kurma Purana’s overall Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such tapas is generally framed as pleasing Īśvara (the one Lord) beyond sectarian division.