Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 5

Bhūrloka-Vyavasthā — The Seven Dvīpas, Seven Oceans, and the Meru-Centered Order of Jambūdvīpa

Devanagari script

पञ्चाशत्कोटिविस्तीर्णा ससमुद्रा धरा स्मृता / द्वीपैश्च सप्तभिर्युक्ता योजनानां समासतः

Transliteration

pañcāśatkoṭivistīrṇā sasamudrā dharā smṛtā / dvīpaiśca saptabhiryuktā yojanānāṃ samāsataḥ

Translation

ကမ္ဘာမြေသည် ဝိုင်းရံနေသော သမုဒ္ဒရာများနှင့်အတူ အကျယ်အားဖြင့် ကုဋေငါးဆယ် (ယောဇန) ရှိသည်ဟု မှတ်သားကြသည်။ အကျဉ်းချုပ်အားဖြင့် ယောဇနအတိုင်းအတာဖြင့် တိုင်းတာထားသော ဒွီပ ခုနစ်ပါးနှင့် ပြည့်စုံသည်ဟု ဖော်ပြသည်။

Word by Word

• पञ्चाशत्: fifty
• पञ्चाशत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्चाशत् (प्रातिपदिक/संख्याशब्द)
• Form: संख्याशब्दः; कोटि इति पदस्य विशेषणम् (numeral qualifying)

• कोटि: crore (ten million)
• कोटि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे (वा पुंलिङ्गे) प्रथमा एकवचनम्; समासपूर्वपदम् (in compound)

• विस्तीर्णा: extended/spread
• विस्तीर्णा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्तॄ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; धरा इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

• स-समुद्रा: together with the oceans
• स-समुद्रा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (अव्यय-उपसर्गार्थ) + समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः (समुद्रैः सह); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; धरा इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

• धरा: the earth
• धरा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) एकवचनम्

• स्मृता: is considered/remembered
• स्मृता: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; कर्मणि—‘स्मृता’ = ‘कथिता/मन्यते’

• द्वीपैः: with islands
• द्वीपैः: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental) बहुवचनम्

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• सप्तभिः: by seven
• सप्तभिः: Karana (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (प्रातिपदिक/संख्याशब्द)
• Form: तृतीया बहुवचनम्; द्वीपैः इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

• युक्ता: joined/connected
• युक्ता: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा एकवचनम्; धरा इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas
• योजनानाम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) बहुवचनम्; परिमाण-सम्बन्धे

• समासतः: in summary
• समासतः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समासतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; प्रकार/संक्षेपार्थे (adverb: ‘in summary/briefly’)

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the sages (cosmographic exposition)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Earth (Dharā)
• Samudra (Oceans)
• Sapta-dvīpa (Seven Continents)

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 establishes the ordered cosmic field (loka-vyavasthā) within which dharma and spiritual inquiry unfold, a common Purāṇic preface to later metaphysical teaching.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yoga technique is taught in this verse; it provides cosmographic orientation. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmology frames disciplines like Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā and devotion by situating the practitioner within a divinely ordered universe.

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

The verse is descriptive rather than sectarian; by presenting a shared cosmology spoken in a Purāṇic teaching voice, it supports the Kurma Purana’s general tendency toward a unified sacred order that later accommodates both Shaiva and Vaishnava theological emphases.