Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 25

Lineage of Vyāsas, Division of the Veda, and Vāsudeva/Īśāna as the Veda-Known Supreme

Devanagari script

इत्येदक्षरं वेद्यमोङ्कारं वेदमव्ययम् / अवेदं च विजानाति पाराशर्यो महामुनिः

Transliteration

ityedakṣaraṃ vedyamoṅkāraṃ vedamavyayam / avedaṃ ca vijānāti pārāśaryo mahāmuniḥ

Translation

इति पाराशर्यो महामुनिर् वेद्यमक्षरम् ओङ्कारं वेदमव्ययं च विजानाति; यच्च वेदबाह्यं तद् ‘अवेदम्’ इति अपि स स्पष्टं बोधयति।

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/समाप्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative/thus)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (कर्म/Object—understood with ‘vijānāti’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• akṣaram: imperishable syllable
• akṣaram: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: akṣara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vedyam: to be known
• vedyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of akṣaram/oṅkāram)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vedya (कृदन्त/यत् from विद्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; अर्थः ‘ज्ञेयम्’ (to be known)

• oṅkāram: Om-kāra
• oṅkāram: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: oṅkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vedam: the Veda
• vedam: Karma (कर्म/Object in apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• avyayam: imperishable
• avyayam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of vedam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: avyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; अर्थः ‘अविनाशि’ (imperishable)

• a-vedam: the non-Veda / that beyond the Veda
• a-vedam: Karma (कर्म/Object of vijānāti)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- (नञ्) + veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-पूर्वपद: अवेदम्; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha-bodhaka (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• vijānāti: knows/understands distinctly
• vijānāti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√jñā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• pārāśaryaḥ: Pārāśarya (Vyāsa)
• pārāśaryaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject of vijānāti)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārāśarya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; गोत्र/पितृव्युत्पन्न-नाम (patronymic: son/descendant of Parāśara)

• mahā-muniḥ: the great sage
• mahā-muniḥ: Apposition (समानााधिकरण/Appositive to pārāśaryaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास: महान् मुनिः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing Pārāśarya/Vyāsa’s discernment)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Oṁkāra (Praṇava)
• Pārāśarya (Vyāsa)
• Veda

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It identifies the knowable Imperishable (akṣara)—a standard marker for the Supreme reality/Ātman-Brahman—as Oṁ (Praṇava), presenting the Supreme as directly approachable through the mantra that embodies Vedic revelation.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Praṇava-upāsanā is implied: meditation on Oṁkāra as the imperishable essence of the Veda, a mantra-centered contemplative practice aligned with Yoga-śāstra where sound (śabda) becomes a support for realizing the akṣara.

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

By grounding ultimate knowledge in the impersonal Praṇava (Oṁ) and the akṣara, it supports the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis: the Supreme indicated by Oṁ can be approached through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava frames without contradiction.