Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 31

Svāyambhuva Lineage to Dakṣa; Pṛthu’s Devotion; Pāśupata Saṃnyāsa; Dakṣa–Satī Episode

Devanagari script

अथास्मिन्नन्तरे ऽपश्यत् तमायान्तं महामुनिम् / श्वेताश्वतरनामानं महापाशुपतोत्तमम्

Transliteration

athāsminnantare 'paśyat tamāyāntaṃ mahāmunim / śvetāśvataranāmānaṃ mahāpāśupatottamam

Translation

ထိုအချိန်အတွင်း သူသည် လာရောက်နေသော မဟာမုနိတစ်ပါးကို မြင်တွေ့하였다။ ထိုမုနိ၏ အမည်မှာ ရှွေတားရှွတရ (Śvetāśvatara) ဖြစ်ပြီး ပာရှုပတ မာဂ္ဂ၏ မြင့်မြတ်သော အနုယာယီများအနက် အထွတ်အထိပ် (သီဝဘက္တ) ဖြစ်သည်။

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: सम्बन्ध (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण/अनन्तरबोधक अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अन्तरे: in the interval/meanwhile
• अन्तरे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Time/interval)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘अस्मिन्’ सह (अस्मिन् अन्तरे = in the meantime)

• अपश्यत्: saw
• अपश्यत्: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• तम्: him
• तम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• आयान्तम्: coming/approaching
• आयान्तम्: कर्म (Karma/Object; qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle) with उपसर्ग आ; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘तम्’ विशेषण

• महामुनिम्: the great sage
• महामुनिम्: कर्म (Karma/Object; apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् मुनिः)

• श्वेताश्वतर-नामानम्: named Śvetāśvatara
• श्वेताश्वतर-नामानम्: कर्म (Karma/Object; qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वेताश्वतर (प्रातिपदिक) + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीह्यर्थे षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (श्वेताश्वतरं नाम यस्य = named Śvetāśvatara)

• महा-पाशुपत-उत्तमम्: the foremost great Pāśupata (devotee/adept)
• महा-पाशुपत-उत्तमम्: कर्म (Karma/Object; qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + पाशुपत (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (पाशुपतेषु उत्तमः) with उपपद ‘महा’ (very great)

Speaker

Sūta (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Śvetāśvatara
• Mahāmuni
• Pāśupata (Śaiva tradition)
• Śiva

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 advances the narrative by introducing Śvetāśvatara, a foremost Pāśupata adept—preparing the ground for later teachings where devotion and knowledge converge toward the Supreme.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse signals the Pāśupata orientation of the coming teacher (a mahāpāśupata), implying a Śaiva discipline centered on devotion to Paśupati (Śiva), austerity, and yogic restraint—key frames used in the Kurma Purana’s integrated yoga-dharma teaching.

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

By honoring a supreme Pāśupata authority within the Kurma Purana’s Vaiṣṇava narrative setting, the text models Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis: revered Śaiva lineages are presented as compatible with the Purana’s broader vision of one Supreme worshipped in multiple forms.