Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16

Measure of the Three Worlds, Planetary Spheres, and Sūrya as the Root of Trailokya

Devanagari script

चन्द्रस्य षोडशो भागो भार्गवस्य विधीयते / भार्गवात् पादहीनस्तु विज्ञेयो वै बृहस्पतिः

Transliteration

candrasya ṣoḍaśo bhāgo bhārgavasya vidhīyate / bhārgavāt pādahīnastu vijñeyo vai bṛhaspatiḥ

Translation

ଚନ୍ଦ୍ରଙ୍କ ଷୋଡଶ ଭାଗ ଭାର୍ଗବ (ଶୁକ୍ର)ଙ୍କ ପରିମାଣ ଭାବେ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଧାରିତ। ଏବଂ ଭାର୍ଗବଠାରୁ ଏକ ପାଦ କମ୍ ବୃହସ୍ପତି (ଗୁରୁ) ବୋଲି ଜାଣିବା ଉଚିତ।

Word by Word

• चन्द्रस्य: of the Moon
• चन्द्रस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: candra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Gen/6th), एकवचन

• षोडशः: sixteenth
• षोडशः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom/1st), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण (ordinal/cardinal used adjectivally)

• भागः: portion/part
• भागः: Karta (कर्ता; subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भार्गवस्य: of Bhārgava (Venus/Śukra)
• भार्गवस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārgava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• विधीयते: is assigned
• विधीयते: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√dhā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive): ‘is assigned/ordained’

• भार्गवात्: from Bhārgava
• भार्गवात्: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārgava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Abl/5th), एकवचन

• पाद-हीनः: lacking a quarter
• पाद-हीनः: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक) + hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: पादेन हीनः = ‘lacking a quarter’

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• विज्ञेयः: is to be known
• विज्ञेयः: Vidhi/Pravṛtti (विधि; predicative obligation)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√jñā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (Gerundive/तव्यत्-प्रत्यय; ‘to be known’), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/निश्चयार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• बृहस्पतिः: Bṛhaspati (Jupiter)
• बृहस्पतिः: Karta (कर्ता; subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bṛhaspati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Traditional Purāṇic narrator (Sūta/Vyāsa lineage) presenting cosmological-astronomical measures

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Candra (Moon)
• Bhārgava (Śukra/Venus)
• Bṛhaspati (Jupiter)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is not an Ātman-teaching passage; it functions as a cosmological-astronomical rule, prescribing relative measures of grahas (Moon, Venus, Jupiter) within the Purāṇic model of the universe.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit yoga practice is taught in this śloka. Its relevance is indirect: Purāṇic cosmology supports dharma-oriented life (kāla/gaṇa awareness for rites), while the Kurma Purana’s yoga teachings appear more directly in its Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis sections (notably the Upari-bhāga’s Ishvara Gita).

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

It does not address Shiva–Vishnu theology directly. The verse belongs to the Purva-bhāga’s descriptive cosmology, whereas Shiva–Vishnu unity and Pāśupata-oriented instruction are emphasized more explicitly elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.