Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 31

Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle

Devanagari script

क्षीणायितं सुरैः सोममाप्यायति नित्यदा / एकेन रश्मिना विप्राः सुषुम्नाख्येन भास्करः

Transliteration

kṣīṇāyitaṃ suraiḥ somamāpyāyati nityadā / ekena raśminā viprāḥ suṣumnākhyena bhāskaraḥ

Translation

အို ဗြာဟ္မဏတို့၊ နတ်တို့က ‘သောက်ယူ’ သဖြင့် လ (ဆိုမ) လျော့နည်းသွားသောအခါ၊ နေမင်း (ဘ္ဟာစ్కရ) သည် စုရှုမ္နာ (Suṣumnā) ဟုခေါ်သော ရောင်ခြည်တစ်စင်းဖြင့် ၎င်းကို အမြဲတမ်း ပြန်လည်ဖြည့်တင်းပေးသည်။

Word by Word

• kṣīṇāyitam: made diminished / waned
• kṣīṇāyitam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣīṇāy (क्षीणाय् धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त, PPP); Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); used predicatively with somam

• suraiḥ: by the gods
• suraiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Plural (बहुवचन)

• somam: the Moon
• somam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: soma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• āpyāyati: nourishes / causes to wax
• āpyāyati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āpyai (आप्यै/आप्याय् धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• nityadā: always
• nityadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nityadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable; adverb of time (कालवाचक)

• ekena: with one
• ekena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन); qualifies raśminā

• raśminā: by a ray
• raśminā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raśmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन)

• viprāḥ: O sages
• viprāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन/8), Plural (बहुवचन)

• suṣumnā-ākhyena: called ‘Suṣumnā’
• suṣumnā-ākhyena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: suṣumnā (प्रातिपदिक) + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (suṣumnāyāḥ ākhya = 'named Suṣumnā'); qualifies raśminā

• bhāskaraḥ: the Sun
• bhāskaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic discourse to the sages/brāhmaṇas)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Soma (Moon)
• Surāḥ (Devas)
• Bhāskara (Sun)
• Suṣumnā (solar ray)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly, it points to an ordered, law-governed cosmos (ṛta) where celestial processes are sustained by a higher regulating principle—often read in Purāṇic theology as the Lord’s governance underlying visible phenomena.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No practice is taught explicitly, but the term “Suṣumnā” invites a yogic resonance: just as a central channel is pivotal in Yoga-shāstra, a single ‘central’ ray is described as sustaining Soma—supporting contemplations on inner–outer correspondences used in meditative reflection.

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

The verse is primarily cosmological, yet it fits the Kurma Purana’s synthetic vision: the same supreme governance that devotees attribute to Hari or Hara is shown as maintaining cosmic balance through the Sun–Moon cycle.