Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16

Divine Abodes on the Mountains — A Sacred Survey of Jambūdvīpa

Kailāsa to Siddha Realms

Devanagari script

अथैकशृङ्गशिखरे महापद्मैरलङ्कृतम् / स्वच्छामृतजलं पुण्यं सुगन्धं सुमहत् सरः

Transliteration

athaikaśṛṅgaśikhare mahāpadmairalaṅkṛtam / svacchāmṛtajalaṃ puṇyaṃ sugandhaṃ sumahat saraḥ

Translation

ထို့နောက် အဲကရှೃင်္ဂ တောင်ထိပ်ပေါ်၌ မဟာပဒ္မ (ကြာပန်းကြီးများ) ဖြင့် အလှဆင်ထားသော သန့်ရှင်းမြင့်မြတ်သည့် ရေကန်ကြီးတစ်ကန် ရှိ၏။ ၎င်း၏ရေသည် အမృతကဲ့သို့ ကြည်လင်၍ ပုဏ္ဏ (ပူဇော်ထိုက်) သန့်စင်ကာ မွှေးကြိုင်ပြီး အလွန်ကျယ်ဝန်းလှ၏။

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Discourse (सम्बोधन/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then/now)

• एकशृङ्गशिखरे: on the peak of Ekashṛṅga
• एकशृङ्गशिखरे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक-शृङ्ग-शिखर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (एकस्य शृङ्गस्य शिखरम्)

• महापद्मैः: with great lotuses
• महापद्मैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-पद्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (महान्ति पद्मानि)

• अलङ्कृतम्: adorned
• अलङ्कृतम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अलम्-√कृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• स्वच्छामृतजलम्: having clear nectar-like water
• स्वच्छामृतजलम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वच्छ-अमृत-जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (स्वच्छं च अमृतवत् जलं यस्य/यत्) विशेषणरूपेण

• पुण्यम्: holy
• पुण्यम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• सुगन्धम्: fragrant
• सुगन्धम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुगन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• सुमहत्: very large
• सुमहत्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (सु + महत् = very great)

• सरः: lake
• सरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic recitation voice, traditionally through Vyāsa’s discourse framework)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Ekaśṛṅga
• Mahāpadma (great lotus)
• Saraḥ (sacred lake/tīrtha)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by portraying a tīrtha of clarity and sanctity, it mirrors the yogic ideal of a purified inner awareness—clear, fragrant with virtue, and “nectar-like,” which supports contemplation of the Self.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse itself is tīrtha-focused rather than instructional, but it supports Kurma Purana’s broader yogic ethic: purification (śuddhi), sattvic environment, and merit (puṇya) as aids to japa, dhyāna, and disciplined vows during pilgrimage.

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

Not explicitly; however, Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis often treats tīrthas as shared sacred spaces where devotion and purity support realization beyond sectarian difference.