Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 30

Cosmic Manifestation, Mahāmāyā’s Mandate, Varṇāśrama-Dharma, and the Unity of the Trimūrti

Devanagari script

या वेदबाह्याः स्मृतयो याश्च काश्च कुदृष्टयः / सर्वास्ता निष्फलाः प्रेत्यतमोनिष्ठाहिताः स्मृताः

Transliteration

yā vedabāhyāḥ smṛtayo yāśca kāśca kudṛṣṭayaḥ / sarvāstā niṣphalāḥ pretyatamoniṣṭhāhitāḥ smṛtāḥ

Translation

వేదప్రామాణ్యానికి వెలుపల ఉన్న స్మృతులు, అలాగే కుదృష్టి గల ఏ సిద్ధాంతాలైనను—అవి అన్నీ ఫలరహితమని ప్రకటించబడినవి; మరణానంతరం అవి తమస్సులోకి నడిపిస్తాయి, ఎందుకంటే అవి తమోగుణనిష్ఠమైనవిగా చెప్పబడినవి।

Word by Word

• yāḥ: which (those)
• yāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); relative pronoun (सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम)

• veda-bāhyāḥ: outside the Veda
• veda-bāhyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + bāhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वेदस्य बाह्याः)

• smṛtayaḥ: smṛtis; traditions/texts
• smṛtayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural

• yāḥ: and which
• yāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; relative pronoun

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

• kāḥ: whatever (any)
• kāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; interrogative used as indefinite with ca (किम्...च)

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

• kudṛṣṭayaḥ: wrong views/doctrines
• kudṛṣṭayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ku-dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (कु + दृष्टिः)

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural

• tāḥ: those
• tāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; demonstrative pronoun

• niṣphalāḥ: fruitless
• niṣphalāḥ: Pradhāna-viśeṣaṇa (मुख्य-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niṣphala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural

• pretya: after death
• pretya: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√i (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/gerund (क्त्वान्त अव्यय) from pra+√i; ‘having gone/after death’

• tamo-niṣṭha-āhitāḥ: set in darkness (tamas)
• tamo-niṣṭha-āhitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + āhita (कृदन्त, √dhā)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural; समासः: (तमसि निष्ठा यस्य) + आहित (past passive participle, क्त) used adjectivally; overall sense ‘placed/established in tamas’

• smṛtāḥ: are regarded (as)
• smṛtāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त, कर्मणि) used predicatively; Feminine, Nominative/1, Plural agreeing with tāḥ; ‘are considered/are called’

Speaker

Sage (narrator-teacher) instructing within the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhaga dharma discourse (Veda as pramāṇa).

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Smriti
• Tamas

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it insists that reliable knowledge leading beyond darkness must be grounded in Vedic pramāṇa; without right authority, views become “fruitless” and do not conduce to liberating Self-knowledge.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No single practice is named; the verse sets a prerequisite for yoga-sādhana—right view (samyag-dṛṣṭi) based on Veda. In the Kurma Purana’s broader yoga-dharma frame, practices like devotion and Pāśupata-oriented discipline must rest on correct doctrine, not Veda-external speculation.

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

By prioritizing Vedic authority over sectarian or Veda-external views, it supports the Purana’s integrative stance: Shaiva and Vaishnava paths are validated when aligned with Veda-based dharma, rather than opposed as separate, self-made doctrines.