Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 17

Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle

Devanagari script

वरुणो माघमासे तु सूर्यः पूषा तु फल्गुने / चैत्रे मासि भवेदंशो धाता वैशाखतापनः

Transliteration

varuṇo māghamāse tu sūryaḥ pūṣā tu phalgune / caitre māsi bhavedaṃśo dhātā vaiśākhatāpanaḥ

Translation

మాఘ మాసంలో వరుణుడు అధిష్ఠాత, ఫాల్గుణంలో సూర్యుడు పూషా రూపంగా అధిష్ఠానమవుతాడు. చైత్ర మాసంలో అంశుడు అధిష్ఠాత అవుతాడు; వైశాఖంలో ధాతా ‘తాపన’—ఉష్ణతను ఇచ్చేవాడు—అధిష్ఠాత అవుతాడు.

Word by Word

• varuṇaḥ: Varuṇa
• varuṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varuṇa (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (singular)

• māgha-māse: in the month of Māgha
• māgha-māse: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/time-locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māgha + māsa (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana (singular); tatpuruṣa: māghasya māse (in the month of Māgha)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Virodha/Avadhāraṇa-nipāta (particle: but/indeed)

• sūryaḥ: Sūrya (Sun)
• sūryaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (singular)

• pūṣā: Pūṣā
• pūṣā: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūṣan (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (singular); pūṣan-stem (pūṣā as nom. sg.)

• tu: and/but
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle)

• phalgune: in (the month of) Phālguna
• phalgune: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/time-locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phalguna (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana (singular)

• caitre: in (the month of) Caitra
• caitre: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/time-locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caitra (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana (singular)

• māsi: in the month
• māsi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/time-locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana (singular)

• bhavet: would be/is (assigned as)
• bhavet: Kriyā (क्रिया/verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (Optative), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana (singular); parasmaipada

• aṃśaḥ: Aṃśa
• aṃśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṃśa (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (singular)

• dhātā: Dhātā
• dhātā: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhātṛ (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (singular)

• vaiśākha-tāpanaḥ: Vaiśākha-heater (name/epithet)
• vaiśākha-tāpanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśākha + tāpana (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana (singular); tatpuruṣa: vaiśākhe tāpanaḥ (the ‘heating’ one in Vaiśākha)

Speaker

Sūta (narrating the Purāṇic account to the sages, describing the monthly presiding solar deities)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Varuṇa
• Sūrya
• Pūṣan
• Aṁśa
• Dhātṛ
• Tāpana
• Māgha
• Phālguna
• Caitra
• Vaiśākha

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by mapping divine functions to time (months), it presents a cosmos ordered by intelligible powers; in Kurma Purāṇa’s broader theology, such ordered manifestations point back to a single sustaining Reality (Īśvara/Ātman) behind all names and functions.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yoga technique is taught in this verse; its practical use is dharmic observance—choosing proper times for vratas, worship, and discipline, which in the Kurma Purāṇa supports inner purification that complements Pāśupata-style restraint and devotion found elsewhere.

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

The verse itself is calendrical and solar; however, in the Kurma Purāṇa’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such deities function as coordinated limbs of one cosmic order under Īśvara—supporting the text’s tendency to harmonize sectarian forms within a unified sacred governance.