Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 97

Dakṣa-yajña-bhaṅgaḥ — Dadhīci’s Teaching and the Destruction of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice

Devanagari script

एतद् वः कथितं सर्वं दक्षयज्ञनिषूदनम् / शृणुध्वं दक्षपुत्रीणां सर्वासां चैव संततिम्

Transliteration

etad vaḥ kathitaṃ sarvaṃ dakṣayajñaniṣūdanam / śṛṇudhvaṃ dakṣaputrīṇāṃ sarvāsāṃ caiva saṃtatim

Translation

Demikianlah telah kukhabarkan kepada kamu semuanya tentang pemusnahan yajña Dakṣa. Sekarang dengarkan pula keturunan—jalur zuriat—bagi semua puteri Dakṣa.

Word by Word

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/1 or द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); here as object-complement

• vaḥ: to you / for you
• vaḥ: Sampradāna/Sambandha (सम्प्रदान/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Genitive/Dative (षष्ठी/6 or चतुर्थी/4), Plural (बहुवचन); enclitic

• kathitam: told / narrated
• kathitam: Kriyā (क्रिया; भावे)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kath (धातु) → kathita (कृदन्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (कर्मणि भूतकृदन्त/क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/1 or द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); used predicatively: 'has been told'

• sarvam: all / entire
• sarvam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/1 or द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); agrees with etat

• dakṣa-yajña-niṣūdanam: the destruction of Dakṣa’s sacrifice
• dakṣa-yajña-niṣūdanam: Karma/Apposition (कर्म; विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣūdana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/1 or द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); compound: dakṣasya yajñasya niṣūdanam (the slaying/destruction of Dakṣa's sacrifice)

• śṛṇudhvam: listen
• śṛṇudhvam: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• dakṣa-putrīṇām: of Dakṣa’s daughters
• dakṣa-putrīṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + putrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Plural (बहुवचन); compound: dakṣasya putryaḥ (daughters of Dakṣa)

• sarvāsām: of all
• sarvāsām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with putrīṇām

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• eva: indeed / just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle/emphasis (अवधारण-निपात)

• saṃtatim: lineage / progeny / continuation
• saṃtatim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃtati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) speaking to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Daksha
• Daksha-yajna

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily narrative and transitional: it closes the account of Dakṣa’s sacrifice and introduces genealogical creation-lines. Its implied teaching is Paurāṇic—cosmic order unfolds through sanctioned lineages after disorder is corrected—rather than a direct exposition of Ātman.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yoga practice is taught in this verse. It functions as a structural pivot in the Purāṇa, moving from the ethical-theological episode of the yajña to creation-lineages; yogic instruction appears more explicitly elsewhere (notably in the Upari-bhāga’s Īśvara-gītā and related Pāśupata-oriented sections).

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

Indirectly: the ‘destruction of Dakṣa’s sacrifice’ is a classic Śaiva episode, yet in the Kūrma Purāṇa’s broader synthesis it serves to restore dharma and cosmic balance, aligning Śiva’s corrective power with the Purāṇic vision of a unified divine governance rather than sectarian opposition.