Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ऊचुश्न कूर्मराजानमकूपारे सुरासुरा: । अधिष्ठानं गिरेरस्य भवान्‌ भवितुमहति,तब देवताओं और असुरोंने (समुद्रकी बात स्वीकार करके) समुद्रतलमें स्थित कच्छपराजसे कहा--“भगवन्‌! आप इस मन्दराचलके आधार बनिये'

Transliteration

ūcuḥ śrī-kūrma-rājānam akūpāre surāsurāḥ | adhiṣṭhānaṃ gireḥ asya bhavān bhavitum arhati ||

Translation

ਤਦ ਦੇਵਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਅਸੁਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਬੇਅੰਤ ਜਲ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੱਸਦੇ ਕੂਰਮਰਾਜ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਹਾ—“ਹੇ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ, ਇਸ ਪਹਾੜ ਦਾ ਆਧਾਰ ਬਣਨ ਲਈ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਹੀ ਯੋਗ ਹੋ; ਤੁਸੀਂ ਹੀ ਇਸ ਦਾ ਅਧਿਸ਼ਠਾਨ ਬਣੋ।”

Word by Word

ऊचुःsaid

कूर्मराजानम्the king of tortoises (Kurma)

अकूपारेin the bottomless (ocean)

सुरासुराःgods and demons

अधिष्ठानम्support, base

गिरेःof the mountain

अस्यof this

भवान्you (honorific)

भवितुम्to become

अर्हतिis fit / ought

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Kūrma-rāja (Tortoise King)

Surāḥ (Devas)

Asurāḥ

Giri (the mountain; contextually Mandara)

Akūpāra (the boundless ocean)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A great undertaking requires a proper foundation and the right bearer of responsibility; recognizing who is fit (arhati) to support others is an ethical act that sustains order and success.

What is happening in the narrative?

Devas and asuras approach the Tortoise King in the ocean and request him to serve as the base for the mountain (implicitly Mandara) so it can be used in their oceanic enterprise.