Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 57

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

Devanagari script

फलदानां तु वृक्षाणां छेदने जप्यमृक्शतम् / गुल्मवल्लीलतानां तु पुष्पितानां च वीरुधाम्

Transliteration

phaladānāṃ tu vṛkṣāṇāṃ chedane japyamṛkśatam / gulmavallīlatānāṃ tu puṣpitānāṃ ca vīrudhām

Translation

ଫଳଦାୟକ ବୃକ୍ଷ କାଟିଲେ ଶତ ଋକ୍-ମନ୍ତ୍ର ଜପ କରିବା ଉଚିତ। ଏହିପରି ପୁଷ୍ପିତ ଗୁଲ୍ମ, ବଲ୍ଲୀ, ଲତା ଓ ପୁଷ୍ପିତ ବୀରୁଧା କାଟିଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ ସେଇ ଜପ-ପ୍ରାୟଶ୍ଚିତ୍ତ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦିଷ୍ଟ।

Word by Word

• phaladānām: of fruit-giving
• phaladānām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक) + dā (धातु) → phaladā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (उपपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘fruit-giving’), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन); qualifying vṛkṣāṇām

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (अन्वय/विरोध सूचक)

• vṛkṣāṇām: of trees
• vṛkṣāṇām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• chedane: in cutting down
• chedane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: chedana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• japya: to be recited
• japya: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jap (धातु) + ya (यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Gerundive (ण्‍यत्/यत्), ‘to be recited’

• ṛkśatam: a hundred ṛk-verses
• ṛkśatam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛc (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘a hundred (verses) of ṛk’), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)

• gulma-vallī-latānām: of shrubs, creepers, and vines
• gulma-vallī-latānām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gulma (प्रातिपदिक) + vallī (प्रातिपदिक) + latā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva (समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tu: and/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (अन्वय/विरोध सूचक)

• puṣpitānām: of flowering (ones)
• puṣpitānām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṣpita (प्रातिपदिक; √puṣp + kta)
• Form: Past participle (क्त), used adjectivally; Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक)

• vīrudhām: of herbs/creepers (plants)
• vīrudhām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vīrudh (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the Kurma Purana’s dharma-teaching on prāyaścitta

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Ṛk (Rigvedic) mantras
• vṛkṣa (trees)
• vīrudh (plants/creepers)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it frames dharma as restraint and reverence for life-supporting beings; such ethical purification supports inner clarity (śuddhi) that is traditionally held to be necessary for realizing the Atman.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Mantra-japa (recitation) is prescribed as prāyaścitta. In the broader Kurma Purana ethos, disciplined japa functions as a purifying practice that steadies the mind and aligns action with dharma—an ethical base compatible with Pāśupata-oriented sādhana.

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

It does not explicitly mention Shiva–Vishnu unity; instead it presents a shared dharmic framework—Vedic mantra-japa and ahiṃsā—common to both Shaiva and Vaishnava practice in the Kurma Purana’s synthetic religious landscape.