Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 21

Mādhayameśvara-māhātmya — Vyāsa at Mandākinī and the Pāśupata Vision

Devanagari script

अत्र पूर्वं हृषीकेशो विश्वात्मा देवकीसुतः / उवास वत्सरं कृष्णः सदा पाशुपतैर्वृतः

Transliteration

atra pūrvaṃ hṛṣīkeśo viśvātmā devakīsutaḥ / uvāsa vatsaraṃ kṛṣṇaḥ sadā pāśupatairvṛtaḥ

Translation

ရှေးကာလ၌ ဤနေရာ၌ ဟೃṣīkēśa—ကမ္ဘာလုံးဆိုင်ရာ အတ္တမ၊ ဒေဝကီ၏သား ကృష్ణ—သည် တစ်နှစ်ပြည့် နေထိုင်ခဲ့ပြီး ပာရှုပတ (ပశုပတိ-ရှီဝ၏ ဘက္တများ) တို့က အမြဲ ဝန်းရံလျက်ရှိ၏။

Word by Word

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of place

• पूर्वम्: formerly/before
• पूर्वम्: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of time (पूर्वकाले)

• हृषीकेशः: Hṛṣīkeśa
• हृषीकेशः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृषीक (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; समास: हृषीकाणाम् ईशः (Lord of the senses)

• विश्व-आत्मा: the universal Self
• विश्व-आत्मा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; समास: विश्वः आत्मा (the soul of the universe)

• देवकी-सुतः: son of Devakī
• देवकी-सुतः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवकी (प्रातिपदिक) + सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; समास: देवक्याः सुतः

• उवास: dwelt/stayed
• उवास: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वस् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• वत्सरम्: for a year
• वत्सरम्: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्सर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; duration-accusative (कालावधि-द्वितीया)

• कृष्णः: Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्णः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; apposition to Hṛṣīkeśa

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kāla (काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of time

• पाशुपतैः: by/with the Pāśupatas (followers of Paśupati)
• पाशुपतैः: Sahakāraka (सहकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाशुपत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• वृतः: surrounded
• वृतः: Kriyā (predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (Past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

Narratorial voice (Purana narrator describing a sacred site/episode to the listening sages)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Hrisikesa (Krishna/Vishnu)
• Devaki
• Pashupatas
• Pashupati (Shiva)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By calling Kṛṣṇa “viśvātmā” (the Cosmic Self), the verse presents him as the indwelling Self of all beings, not merely a historical person—supporting a theistic non-dual vision where the Supreme pervades the universe.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse signals a Pāśupata milieu—association with Śiva’s devotees—implying disciplined sādhana grounded in devotion, restraint of the senses (Hṛṣīkeśa motif), and living in sanctified company (satsaṅga) at a tīrtha.

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

It portrays Kṛṣṇa (Vishnu) dwelling “ever surrounded by Pāśupatas,” suggesting harmony rather than rivalry: Vishnu is honored within a Śaiva devotional setting, reflecting the Kurma Purana’s synthesis of Śiva-Vishnu unity.