Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 15

Puṣkara-dvīpa, Lokāloka, and the Measure of the Brahmāṇḍa

Cosmic Egg

Devanagari script

एतै सप्त महालोकाः पातालाः सप्तकीर्तिताः / ब्रह्माण्डस्यैष विस्तारः संक्षेपेण मयोदितः

Transliteration

etai sapta mahālokāḥ pātālāḥ saptakīrtitāḥ / brahmāṇḍasyaiṣa vistāraḥ saṃkṣepeṇa mayoditaḥ

Translation

ဤသို့ပင် မဟာလောက ခုနစ်ပါးနှင့် ပာတාල (အောက်လောက) ခုနစ်ပါးကို ဖော်ပြပြီးပြီ။ ဤသည်မှာ ငါပြောကြားသကဲ့သို့ ဘြဟ္မာဏ္ဍ (ကောစမစ်ဥ) ၏ အကျယ်အဝန်းနှင့် ဖွဲ့စည်းပုံကို အကျဉ်းချုပ်ဆိုထားခြင်း ဖြစ်သည်။

Word by Word

• एतैः: by these
• एतैः: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (करण/Instrumental), बहुवचनम्; सर्वनाम-विशेषणम् (demonstrative adjective)

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: विशेषण (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-शब्दः; महालोकाः/पातालाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• महा-लोकाः: great worlds
• महा-लोकाः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् + लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (कर्तृ/Nominative), बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (महान्तः लोकाः)

• पातालाः: netherworlds
• पातालाः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाताल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; महालोकाः इत्यस्य समुच्चय/अपादान-रूपेण सूचीकरणम्

• सप्त-कीर्तिताः: declared as seven
• सप्त-कीर्तिताः: विशेषण (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (संख्या) + कीर्तित (कृदन्त; √कीर्त्/कीर्तय्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (past passive participle) ‘कीर्तित’ = ‘proclaimed’; तत्पुरुषः (सप्तधा कीर्तिताः)

• ब्रह्माण्डस्य: of the cosmic egg (universe)
• ब्रह्माण्डस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + अण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (सम्बन्ध/Genitive), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः अण्डम्)

• एषः: this
• एषः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• विस्तारः: expansion; description in detail
• विस्तारः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्तार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• संक्षेपेण: briefly; in summary
• संक्षेपेण: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संक्षेप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (करण/Instrumental), एकवचनम्; क्रियाविशेषणार्थे (adverbial instrumental)

• मया: by me
• मया: कर्ता (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• उदितः: stated
• उदितः: विशेषण (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उदित (कृदन्त; √वद्/√उद्+√इ?; here ‘उद्+√वद्’ sense ‘said/uttered’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तः (PPP) ‘spoken/declared’

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) summarizing the cosmographic teaching in the Kurma Purana frame-narrative

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Brahmanda
• Sapta Lokas
• Sapta Patalas

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily cosmographic: it summarizes the universe (Brahmāṇḍa) as a structured field of experience—seven higher lokas and seven pātālas—within which embodied beings live out karma; it does not directly define Ātman, but frames the domain in which liberation-oriented teachings (elsewhere in the Purāṇa) operate.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yoga practice is taught in this verse; it functions as a concluding summary of cosmology. In the Kurma Purana, such mapping supports dharma and sādhana by situating human life within a graded cosmos, while yoga instructions are treated more explicitly in other sections (notably the Upari-bhāga’s Ishvara Gītā discourse).

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

This verse does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; it presents a shared Purāṇic cosmology. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmological order is ultimately upheld by the one Supreme Lord understood through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava theological lenses.