Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 23

Vārāṇasī (Avimukta) Māhātmya and the Catalogue of Guhya-Tīrthas

Devanagari script

ते प्रणम्य महात्मानं जग्मुः पैलादयो द्विजाः / वासं च तत्र नियतो वाराणस्यां चकार सः

Transliteration

te praṇamya mahātmānaṃ jagmuḥ pailādayo dvijāḥ / vāsaṃ ca tatra niyato vārāṇasyāṃ cakāra saḥ

Translation

ပဲလ (Paila) စသည့် ဒွိဇ ပညာရှိတို့သည် မဟာတ္မာကို ဦးချကန်တော့၍ ထွက်ခွာသွားကြသည်။ ထိုနောက် သူသည် စည်းကမ်းတကျ အတည်တကျဖြင့် ဗာရာဏသီမြို့၌ ထိုနေရာတွင် နေထိုင်ရာကို ချမှတ်하였다။

Word by Word

• ते: they
• ते: कर्ता (Kartā/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• प्रणम्य: having bowed to
• प्रणम्य: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+नम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund), ‘having bowed’

• महात्मानम्: the great-souled (sage)
• महात्मानम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक: महा+आत्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘great-souled one’

• जग्मुः: went
• जग्मुः: क्रिया (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; parasmaipada

• पैलादयः: Paila and others
• पैलादयः: कर्ता (Kartā/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पैल + आदि (प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘Paila and others’ (आदि-समास)

• द्विजाः: the twice-born (brahmins)
• द्विजाः: कर्ता (Kartā/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• वासम्: dwelling/residence
• वासम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction ‘and’)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• नियतः: disciplined
• नियतः: विशेषण (Qualifier of सः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि+यत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) ‘restrained/observant’

• वाराणस्याम्: in Vārāṇasī
• वाराणस्याम्: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• चकार: made/did
• चकार: क्रिया (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; parasmaipada

• सः: he
• सः: कर्ता (Kartā/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purana-samvada frame; the verse is narrative, not direct speech)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

Characters & Entities

• Paila
• Dvijas (Brahmin sages)
• Varanasi (Kashi)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it emphasizes reverence to a “mahātman” and the disciplined resolve (niyata) needed for higher realization—preparatory virtues that the Kurma Purana associates with spiritual knowledge.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The key cue is “niyataḥ” (disciplined/self-restrained), pointing to niyama-like observances and steadiness of conduct—foundational for Purāṇic Yoga and for the Pāśupata-oriented ethic of regulated living.

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

This specific verse does not explicitly mention Shiva or Vishnu; it supports the Purana’s broader synthesis by foregrounding tirtha-residence (Kashi) and disciplined life as shared Shaiva–Vaishnava spiritual ground.