Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 49

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

Devanagari script

विधूय मोहकलिलं यया पश्यति तत् पदम् / सापि विद्या महेशस्य नियोगवशवर्तिनी

Transliteration

vidhūya mohakalilaṃ yayā paśyati tat padam / sāpi vidyā maheśasya niyogavaśavartinī

Translation

ਜਿਸ ਵਿਦਿਆ ਨਾਲ ਮੋਹ ਦੀ ਚਿਕੜ ਝਾੜ ਕੇ ਉਸ ਪਰਮ ਪਦ ਦਾ ਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਮੁਕਤੀਦਾਇਨੀ ਵਿਦਿਆ ਵੀ ਮਹੇਸ਼ ਦੇ ਨਿਯੋਗ ਅਧੀਨ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• विधूय: having shaken off/removed
• विधूय: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-धू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), धातु: धू, उपसर्ग: वि; अर्थ: ‘हत्वा/अपसार्य’

• मोहकलिलम्: the mire of delusion
• मोहकलिलम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोह (प्रातिपदिक) + कलिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: मोहस्य कलिलम्

• यया: by which
• यया: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; relative pronoun ‘by which’

• पश्यति: sees
• पश्यति: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (padam इति)

• पदम्: state/abode/goal
• पदम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• सा: that (she)
• सा: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun ‘she/that’

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha/Avyaya (सम्बन्ध/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थ ‘also/even’

• विद्या: knowledge
• विद्या: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• महेशस्य: of Mahēśa (Śiva)
• महेशस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• नियोगवशवर्तिनी: subject to (his) command/control
• नियोगवशवर्तिनी: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नियोग (प्रातिपदिक) + वश (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्तिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (विद्या इति); तत्पुरुष-समास: नियोगस्य वशे वर्तिनी (under the control of command)

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu), teaching in the Ishvara Gita section with Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Mahesha (Shiva)
• Vidya (Liberating Knowledge)
• Tat Padam (Supreme Abode)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It presents realization as direct “seeing” of the supreme padam after removing moha; the Self is known not by speculation but by vidyā that clears delusion and reveals the highest state.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse points to the inner discipline central to Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā: cleansing moha (ignorance-driven confusion) so that knowledge becomes a means of direct realization—implying purification, steadiness, and contemplative insight rather than mere ritual learning.

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

Though spoken within a Vaishnava frame (Kurma), it attributes the governance of liberating vidyā to Maheśa, expressing the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where Shiva’s lordship and Vishnu’s teaching converge in a unified vision of Īśvara.