Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 17

Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide

Devanagari script

अधः शायी त्रिभिर्वर्षैस्तद् व्यपोहति पातकम् / चान्द्रायणानि वा कुर्यात् पञ्च चत्वारि वा पुनः

Transliteration

adhaḥ śāyī tribhirvarṣaistad vyapohati pātakam / cāndrāyaṇāni vā kuryāt pañca catvāri vā punaḥ

Translation

မြေပြင်ပေါ်တွင် အောက်ချအိပ်ခြင်းကို တပသ်အဖြစ် သုံးနှစ်ကြာ ကျင့်သုံးသူသည် ထိုအပြစ်ကို ဖယ်ရှားနိုင်သည်။ သို့မဟုတ် စန္ဒြာယဏ (Cāndrāyaṇa) ပင်နန့်ကို ထပ်မံ၍ ငါးကြိမ် သို့မဟုတ် လေးကြိမ် ပြုလုပ်ရမည်။

Word by Word

• अधः: below/downwards
• अधः: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (below)

• शायी: one who lies (thus)
• शायी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शी (धातु) → शायिन् (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-आधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक (one who lies)

• त्रिभिः: by three
• त्रिभिः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषण

• वर्षैः: years
• वर्षैः: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; काल-परिमाण

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• व्यपोहति: removes
• व्यपोहति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-अप-ऊह्/अप-ऊह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; √व्यप-ऊह् (to remove/expel)

• पातकम्: sin
• पातकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• चान्द्रायणानि: Cāndrāyaṇa penances
• चान्द्रायणानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चान्द्रायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; व्रत-विशेषः

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात

• कुर्यात्: should perform
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; √कृ (to do)

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• चत्वारि: four
• चत्वारि: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक-विशेषण

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरर्थक-अव्यय (again/further)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the dharma-teaching of the Kurma Purana in a prāyaścitta context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Characters & Entities

• Cāndrāyaṇa
• Prāyaścitta
• Pātaka

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily prescriptive (prāyaścitta) rather than metaphysical: it teaches purification through tapas and regulated discipline, which in the Purāṇic dharma framework supports inner clarity conducive to realizing the Self.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It highlights tapas (austerity) and vrata-based self-regulation: sleeping on the ground and performing Cāndrāyaṇa (lunar-cycle fasting). These are preparatory disciplines that steady the mind and senses, aligning with broader yogic restraint (yama/niyama-like) themes in the Kurma Purana.

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

The verse does not explicitly address Shiva–Vishnu unity; it reflects the shared dharma vocabulary used across Shaiva and Vaishnava contexts in the Kurma Purana—purification through tapas as a common means toward spiritual fitness.