Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 36

Madhu–Kaiṭabha, Nārāyaṇa’s Yoga-Nidrā, Rudra’s Manifestation, and the Aṣṭamūrti–Trimūrti Teaching

Devanagari script

मा स्त्राक्षीरीदृशीर्देव प्रजा मृत्युविवर्जिताः / अन्याः सृजस्व भूतेश जन्ममृत्युसमन्विताः

Transliteration

mā strākṣīrīdṛśīrdeva prajā mṛtyuvivarjitāḥ / anyāḥ sṛjasva bhūteśa janmamṛtyusamanvitāḥ

Translation

“ข้าแต่เทพเจ้า อย่าทรงสร้างประชาเช่นนี้ที่ปราศจากความตาย; ข้าแต่ภูเตศะ ขอทรงสร้างสัตว์อื่นที่ประกอบด้วยทั้งเกิดและตายเถิด”

Word by Word

• mā: do not
• mā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mā (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (prohibitive particle)

• sṛākṣīḥ: (you) should create
• sṛākṣīḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛj (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘(you) created’—prohibitive with ‘mā’ = ‘do not create’

• īdṛśīḥ: such (of this kind)
• īdṛśīḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛś (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• deva: O god
• deva: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prajāḥ: creatures; progeny
• prajāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• mṛtyu-vivarjitāḥ: devoid of death
• mṛtyu-vivarjitāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक) + vivarjita (कृदन्त; वर्ज् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (prajāḥ इति विशेष्यस्य); कृदन्त: वि + वर्ज् (धातु) + क्त = विवर्जित; तत्पुरुषः (मृत्युनाऽविवर्जिताः = मृत्युविवर्जिताः)

• anyāḥ: other
• anyāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• sṛjasva: create
• sṛjasva: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛj (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• bhūteśa: O lord of beings
• bhūteśa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + īśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (भूतानाम् ईशः)

• janma-mṛtyu-samanvitāḥ: endowed with birth and death
• janma-mṛtyu-samanvitāḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: janma (प्रातिपदिक) + mṛtyu (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (कृदन्त; अन्वि/वृत्-सम्?; सम्+अन्वि धातु/समन्वि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (anyāḥ prajāḥ implied); कृदन्त-विशेषण: सम् + अन्वि (धातु) + क्त = समन्वित; तत्पुरुषः (जन्ममृत्युभ्यां समन्विताः)

Speaker

Unspecified interlocutor addressing the Creator/Lord of beings (Bhūteśa) within the creation narrative (commonly framed as sages narrating cosmogenesis).

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Bhūteśa
• Prajā
• Janma
• Mṛtyu

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By insisting on mortal creation (birth-and-death), the verse implicitly distinguishes the perishable realm of prajā (embodied beings) from the deathless principle sought in liberation—Atman/Brahman—known through Yoga and knowledge rather than through worldly continuity.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is named, but the teaching supports Yoga’s core contemplation of anitya (impermanence): recognizing that embodied life is structured by janma and mṛtyu becomes the basis for vairāgya (dispassion) and disciplined practice leading toward mokṣa.

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

While the verse does not name Shiva or Vishnu, its address to the “Lord of beings” fits the Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology where cosmic governance (including death and rebirth) is administered by the one Supreme Lord revered through both Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms.