Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 71

Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction

Devanagari script

शङ्खचक्रधरं काम्यं त्रिनेत्रं कृत्तिवाससम् / अण्डस्थं चाण्डबाह्यस्थं बाह्यमाभ्यन्तरं परम्

Transliteration

śaṅkhacakradharaṃ kāmyaṃ trinetraṃ kṛttivāsasam / aṇḍasthaṃ cāṇḍabāhyasthaṃ bāhyamābhyantaraṃ param

Translation

सः शङ्खचक्रधरः काम्यः त्रिनेत्रः कृत्तिवासाः; अण्डस्थश्चाण्डबाह्यस्थो बाह्यमाभ्यन्तरं परम्॥

Word by Word

• śaṅkha-cakra-dharam: bearing conch and discus
• śaṅkha-cakra-dharam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaṅkha (प्रातिपदिक) + cakra (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Dvitīyā vibhakti (2nd/द्वितीया), Ekavacana (singular); विशेषण (adjective)

• kāmyam: desirable
• kāmyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; विशेषण

• tri-netram: three-eyed
• tri-netram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + netra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; विशेषण

• kṛtti-vāsasam: clad in a skin (hide)
• kṛtti-vāsasam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛtti (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; विशेषण

• aṇḍa-stham: situated within the cosmic egg
• aṇḍa-stham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; विशेषण

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction/समुच्चय-निपात)

• aṇḍa-bāhya-stham: situated outside the cosmic egg
• aṇḍa-bāhya-stham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + bāhya (प्रातिपदिक) + stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; विशेषण

• bāhyam: external
• bāhyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bāhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; विशेषण

• ābhyantaram: internal
• ābhyantaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ābhyantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; विशेषण

• param: supreme
• param: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; विशेषण

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kurma
• Vishnu (Śaṅkha-Cakra dhara)
• Shiva (Trinetra, Kṛttivāsas)
• Paramatman
• Brahmāṇḍa (Cosmic Egg)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It presents the Supreme as both transcendent (param, beyond the brahmāṇḍa) and immanent (ābhyantara, within all beings), showing Atman/Ishvara as simultaneously inner ruler and cosmic ground.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse implies upāsanā/dhyāna: meditating on Ishvara with integrated iconography (Śaṅkha-Cakra and Trinetra-Kṛttivāsas) while realizing His presence both within the cosmos and beyond it—an Ishvara-centered contemplative method aligned with Pashupata-oriented devotion and knowledge.

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

By attributing Vishnu’s emblems (conch and discus) and Shiva’s marks (three eyes, skin-garment) to one Supreme, it teaches a non-sectarian synthesis: Shiva and Vishnu are modes/signs of the one Ishvara.