Shloka 20

Measure of the Three Worlds, Planetary Spheres, and Sūrya as the Root of Trailokya

Devanagari script

सर्वावरनिकृष्टानि तारकामण्डलानि तु / योजनान्यर्धमात्राणि तेभ्यो ह्रस्वं न विद्यते

Transliteration

sarvāvaranikṛṣṭāni tārakāmaṇḍalāni tu / yojanānyardhamātrāṇi tebhyo hrasvaṃ na vidyate

Translation

Namun, sfera bintang (tārakā-maṇḍala) yang paling rendah antara segala lapisan penutup diukur setengah yojana; tiada yang lebih kecil daripada itu disebutkan.

Word by Word

• सर्वावरनिकृष्टानि: lowest among all coverings (i.e., in the lowest enclosure)
• सर्वावरनिकृष्टानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + आवरण + निकृष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण—तारकामण्डलानि इति विशेष्यस्य

• तारका-मण्डलानि: star-clusters/constellations
• तारका-मण्डलानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तारका + मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थे

• योजनानि: yojanas (units of distance)
• योजनानि: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; प्रमाणवाचक

• अर्ध-मात्राणि: of half-measure (half)
• अर्ध-मात्राणि: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अर्ध + मात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण—योजनानि इति विशेष्यस्य

• तेभ्यः: from them/than them
• तेभ्यः: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th), बहुवचन; अपादान (ablative)

• ह्रस्वम्: a shorter (measure)
• ह्रस्वम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ह्रस्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भाववाचक—‘shorter (measure)’

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation)

• विद्यते: exists/is found
• विद्यते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; भावे/सत्तायाम्—‘exists/is found’

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the Purāṇic cosmography to the sages (Naimiṣāraṇya frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Tārakā-maṇḍala
• Yojana
• Āvara (cosmic coverings)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by mapping the finest stated physical measure, the verse marks the limit of describable material gradation; the Kurma Purana’s broader teaching contrasts such measurable cosmos with the immeasurable Self (Ātman), which is beyond quantity and enumeration.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No direct practice is prescribed in this line; it supplies cosmographic precision. In Kurma Purana’s integrated path (notably later in the Upari-bhāga’s Ishvara Gītā), such ordered description supports dhyāna by giving the mind a structured cosmic hierarchy before turning inward to the Lord/Self.

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

This verse is cosmological rather than sectarian. In the Kurma Purana’s overall Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, the same ordered cosmos is upheld by the one Supreme Lord—spoken of as Hari and also as Īśvara—so the measurement teaching is compatible with non-dual devotion to either form.