Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 27

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

Devanagari script

योजनानां सहस्त्राणि भास्करस्य रथो नव / ईषादण्डस्तथैव स्याद् द्विगुणो द्विजसत्तमाः

Transliteration

yojanānāṃ sahastrāṇi bhāskarasya ratho nava / īṣādaṇḍastathaiva syād dviguṇo dvijasattamāḥ

Translation

အို ဒွိဇသတ္တမ (နှစ်ကြိမ်မွေးမြူသူတို့အထဲက အမြတ်ဆုံး) ရေ၊ ဘာஸ్కရ (နေဘုရား) ၏ရထားသည် ယောဇန ၉,၀၀၀ အလျားရှိ၏။ ထို့အပြင် အလယ်တိုင် (drawbar) သည် ထိုအတိုင်းအတာ၏ နှစ်ဆဖြစ်သည်ဟု ဆို၏။

Word by Word

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas
• योजनानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Genitive plural

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma/Measure (कर्म/परिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Nominative/Accusative plural (as measure)

• भास्करस्य: of the Sun (Bhāskara)
• भास्करस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भास्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Genitive singular

• रथः: chariot
• रथः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• नव: nine
• नव: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या; here used as numeral adjective; (नपुंसक/पुं) प्रथमा एकवचन with implied ‘(सहस्राणि)’ or as measure ‘nine’

• ईषादण्डः: the pole/shaft (of the chariot)
• ईषादण्डः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईषा + दण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular; समास: ईषा-तत्पुरुष (‘pole/shaft’ + ‘rod’)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha/Adverbial (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय; adverb ‘thus/likewise’

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय; emphatic particle

• स्यात्: is/should be
• स्यात्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘may be/is’

• द्विगुणः: double/twofold
• द्विगुणः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular; समास: द्वि-तत्पुरुष (‘twofold’)

• द्विजसत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Vocative plural; समास: द्विजानां सत्तमाः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic sage) addressing the dvija-s (brahmin sages) while describing cosmic/astronomical geography

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Bhāskara (Sūrya)
• Ratha (chariot)
• Yojana

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily cosmographical, giving sacred measurements; indirectly, it supports the Purāṇic vision that the ordered cosmos operates under a higher, harmonizing principle (Īśvara), within which the Self is to be contemplated.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yoga technique is taught in this line; however, Purāṇic cosmology is traditionally used as a contemplative support (dhyāna) to steady the mind on divine order and on the Sun as a cosmic regulator.

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

The verse does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; in the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmological descriptions are understood as functions of the one supreme Lord manifesting through deities like Sūrya.