Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 8

Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī

Devanagari script

किं कारणमिदं ब्रह्मन् वर्तते तव सांप्रतम् / अज्ञानयोगयुक्तस्य न त्वेतदुचितं तव

Transliteration

kiṃ kāraṇamidaṃ brahman vartate tava sāṃpratam / ajñānayogayuktasya na tvetaducitaṃ tava

Translation

အို ဘြဟ္မန် (ဂုဏ်ရည်မြင့် ရှင်ရသီ) ယခု သင်၌ ဖြစ်ပေါ်လာသော ဤအခြေအနေ၏ အကြောင်းရင်းသည် အဘယ်နည်း? အဝိဇ္ဇာယောဂနှင့် ချိတ်ဆက်နေသူကဲ့သို့ ဖြစ်ခြင်းသည် သင့်အတွက် မသင့်တော်ပါ။

Word by Word

• किम्: what
• किम्: विशेष्य (Interrogative determiner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कारणम्: cause/reason
• कारणम्: कर्ता/कर्म (Predicate noun with kim)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: विशेषण (Determiner of kāraṇam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahman (O Brahmā)
• ब्रह्मन्: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

• वर्तते: is occurring/prevails
• वर्तते: क्रिया (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तव: of you/your
• तव: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन

• साम्प्रतम्: now/at present
• साम्प्रतम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साम्प्रतम् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• अज्ञान-योग-युक्तस्य: of one joined with the yoga of ignorance
• अज्ञान-योग-युक्तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + योग (प्रातिपदिक) + युक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, युज् धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (determinative: अज्ञानस्य योगः; तेन युक्तः), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifies ‘you’)

• न: not
• न: निषेध (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• त्वा: you (but you)
• त्वा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject, implied)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्वद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, प्रथमा (as enclitic ‘tu’ sense in sandhi with etat); here functioning as ‘but you’ (contrastive)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: कर्ता/कर्म (Subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उचितम्: proper/appropriate
• उचितम्: प्रथमा-सम्बन्ध (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उचित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; वच्/उच् धातु से ‘fit/appropriate’ परम्परया)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (predicate adjective of etat)

• तव: for you/of you
• तव: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, मध्यमपुरुष, षष्ठी, एकवचन

Speaker

A questioning sage/disciple addressing a revered Brahman (contextual interlocutor within the Kurma Purana’s Upari-bhaga discourse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Brahman
• Ajñāna (ignorance)
• Yoga

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By condemning “ajñāna-yoga” (being yoked to ignorance), the verse implies that true realization aligns with knowledge (jñāna) and right discipline—states compatible with the Self’s clarity, not with delusion.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse functions as a diagnostic: it rejects any ‘yoga’ that is merely attachment to ignorance. In the Kurma Purana’s yoga-teaching frame (often aligned with Pāśupata-oriented discipline), authentic practice is that which removes ajñāna through right understanding, restraint, and devotion to Īśvara.

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

While not naming them directly, the verse fits the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian method: true yoga is defined by freedom from ignorance and alignment with Īśvara’s teaching—supporting the text’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis rather than a narrow sectarian identity.