Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 98

Narmadā–Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Sequence of Sacred Fords and Their Fruits

Devanagari script

उपोष्य रजनीमेकां मासि भाद्रपदे शुभे / अमावस्यां नरः स्नात्वा पूजयेद् वृषभध्वजम्

Transliteration

upoṣya rajanīmekāṃ māsi bhādrapade śubhe / amāvasyāṃ naraḥ snātvā pūjayed vṛṣabhadhvajam

Translation

မင်္ဂလာရှိသော ဘာဒြပဒ မာသ၌ တစ်ညတည်း ဥပောသ (အစာရှောင်) ပြု၍ အမావာသျာ (လကွယ်နေ့) တွင် ရေချိုးကာ နောက်တစ်ဖန် ဝೃಷဘဓွဇ—နွားတံဆိပ်တော်ကိုင် သီဝရှင်ကို ပူဇော်ရမည်။

Word by Word

• उपोष्य: having fasted
• उपोष्य: क्रियाविशेषण (पूर्वकाल/absolutive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उप + वस् (धातु) → उपोष्य (क्त्वान्त/अव्ययभाव)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund), ‘having fasted’

• रजनीम्: night
• रजनीम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• एकाम्: one
• एकाम्: विशेषण (modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; रजनीम् इति विशेषण

• मासि: in the month
• मासि: अधिकरण (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग

• भाद्रपदे: of Bhādrapada
• भाद्रपदे: अधिकरण (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाद्रपद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग

• शुभे: auspicious
• शुभे: विशेषण (modifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी, एकवचन, पुंलिङ्ग; भाद्रपदे इति विशेषण

• अमावस्याम्: on the new-moon day
• अमावस्याम्: अधिकरण (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमावस्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• नरः: a man
• नरः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: क्रियाविशेषण (पूर्वकाल/absolutive)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund), ‘having bathed’

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: क्रिया (predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• वृषभध्वजम्: Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva)
• वृषभध्वजम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषभ (प्रातिपदिक) + ध्वज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: ‘whose banner is a bull’), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the sages (Kurma Purana vrata-vidhi context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Vrishabhadhvaja
• Bhadrapada
• Amavasya

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It frames liberation-oriented discipline through devotional observance: bodily purification (snāna) and self-restraint (fasting) are directed toward Īśvara (Śiva), implying that inner purification and God-centered worship support realization of the highest principle.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

A preparatory sādhanā is indicated: upavāsa (fasting) for sense-control and snāna (ritual bathing) for purity, culminating in pūjā. In Kurma Purana’s broader Pāśupata-leaning ethos, these function as external supports for inner discipline and one-pointed devotion.

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

With Lord Kūrma (a form of Viṣṇu) prescribing worship of Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva), the text reinforces a synthetic, non-sectarian stance where devotion to Śiva is affirmed within a Vaiṣṇava narrative voice.