Shloka 16

Cosmic Night, Nārāyaṇa as Brahmā, and the Varāha Raising of the Earth

Devanagari script

नमो ऽस्त्वानन्दरूपाय साक्षिणे जगतां नमः / अनन्तायाप्रमेयाय कार्याय करणाय च

Transliteration

namo 'stvānandarūpāya sākṣiṇe jagatāṃ namaḥ / anantāyāprameyāya kāryāya karaṇāya ca

Translation

ఆనందస్వరూపుడా, నీకు నమస్కారం; సమస్త లోకాల సాక్షీ, నీకు నమః. అనంతుడా, అప్రమేయుడా—కార్యమూ కారణమూ అయిన నీకు నమః.

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation; homage
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधनार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विसर्गान्त रूप; नमस्कारार्थे (used as salutation)

• astu: let it be; may it be
• astu: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive sense), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ānandarūpāya: to the one whose form is bliss
• ānandarūpāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ānandasya rūpam)

• sākṣiṇe: to the witness
• sākṣiṇe: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sākṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• jagatām: of the worlds
• jagatām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधनार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नमस्कारार्थे

• anantāya: to the infinite
• anantāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ananta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• aprameyāya: to the immeasurable
• aprameyāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aprameya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying the addressed deity)

• kāryāya: to the effect; to the created (result)
• kāryāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (also used adjectivally), चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• karaṇāya: to the instrument; to the cause/means
• karaṇāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

A devotee/narrator offering a stuti (hymn) to the Supreme Lord (understood in the Kurma Purana’s Shiva–Vishnu synthesis as Īśvara/Nārāyaṇa-Rudra).

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Ishvara
• Ananta
• Sakshi (Witness)
• Jagat (Cosmos)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It describes the Supreme as ānandarūpa (bliss by nature) and sākṣin (the inner Witness), indicating a transcendent Self that illumines all experience while remaining infinite and immeasurable.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The key practice implied is sākṣī-bhāva—meditating as the Witness of thoughts and the world—aligning with Kurma Purana’s yogic emphasis (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline) on disidentifying from changing phenomena and abiding in the witnessing Īśvara/Ātman.

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

By praising one Supreme as both cause and effect, infinite and witness, it supports the Purana’s synthetic stance: Shiva and Vishnu are expressions/titles of the same Īśvara praised in devotion and realized in yoga.