Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 25

Īśvara-gītā: Antaryāmin, Kāla, and the Divine Ordinance Governing Creation, Preservation, and Pralaya

Devanagari script

यः सर्वरक्षसां नाथस्तामसानां फलप्रदः / मन्नियोगादसौ देवो वर्तते निरृतिः सदा

Transliteration

yaḥ sarvarakṣasāṃ nāthastāmasānāṃ phalapradaḥ / manniyogādasau devo vartate nirṛtiḥ sadā

Translation

ရက္ခသတို့၏ အရှင်ဖြစ်၍ တမသ်အောက်ရှိသူတို့အား အကျိုးရလဒ်ပေးသူ—ထိုဒေဝတါသည် ငါ၏ ခန့်အပ်မှုကြောင့်သာ အစဉ်အမြဲ နိရ္ဋတိ အဖြစ် လည်ပတ်နေသည်။

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun

• sarva-rakṣasām: of all rākṣasas
• sarva-rakṣasām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + rakṣas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग) rakṣas, Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: 'of all rākṣasas'

• nāthaḥ: lord
• nāthaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• tāmasānām: of the tāmasas
• tāmasānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāmasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Plural (बहुवचन); used substantively: 'of the tāmasas/dark beings'

• phala-pradaḥ: giver of results
• phala-pradaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक) + prada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); upapada-tatpuruṣa: 'giver of fruits/results'

• mat-niyogāt: from my command
• mat-niyogāt: Apādāna (अपादान/पञ्चमी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + niyoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (पञ्चमी/5), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: 'from my command/appointment'

• asau: that (one)
• asau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun (परोक्श/दूरवाचक)

• devaḥ: god
• devaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• vartate: exists/acts
• vartate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛt (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• nirṛtiḥ: Nirṛti
• nirṛtiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय)

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing/expounding cosmic administration (niyoga) to the sages/Indradyumna-context interlocutors

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Characters & Entities

• Nirṛti
• Rākṣasas
• Tamas

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It implies a supreme governing intelligence behind cosmic roles: even forces associated with darkness and dissolution (Nirṛti, rākṣasas, tamas) function under divine appointment, indicating an overarching Lord who regulates results (phala) and order.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is taught directly; the verse supports a yogic worldview of guṇa-dynamics and karma-phala. In practice, it encourages sāttvika discipline—reducing tamas through niyama, clarity, and devotion—so one is not drawn into tamasic outcomes governed by such powers.

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

By presenting divine governance as a unified cosmic order, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology: various deities and powers (often shared across Shaiva-Vaishnava frameworks) operate by the same supreme ordinance, emphasizing functional unity rather than sectarian separation.