Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 3

Dakṣa-yajña-bhaṅgaḥ — Dadhīci’s Teaching and the Destruction of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच वक्ष्ये नारायणेनोक्तं पूर्वकल्पानुषङ्गिकम् / त्रिकालबद्धं पापघ्नं प्रजासर्गस्य विस्तरम्

Transliteration

sūta uvāca vakṣye nārāyaṇenoktaṃ pūrvakalpānuṣaṅgikam / trikālabaddhaṃ pāpaghnaṃ prajāsargasya vistaram

Translation

สุุตะกล่าวว่า ข้าพเจ้าจักเล่าคำสอนที่นารายณ์ตรัส อันเนื่องด้วยเรื่องราวแห่งกัลปะก่อน ผูกไว้ด้วยกาลทั้งสาม เป็นผู้ทำลายบาป และแจกแจงความแผ่ขยายแห่งการกำเนิดสรรพชีวิตโดยพิสดาร

Word by Word

• सूतः: Sūta (the narrator)
• सूतः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• वक्ष्ये: I shall tell
• वक्ष्ये: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• नारायणेन: by Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• उक्तम्: spoken
• उक्तम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vac (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘said/spoken’

• पूर्वकल्पानुषङ्गिकम्: connected with the previous aeon (kalpa)
• पूर्वकल्पानुषङ्गिकम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva-kalpa-anuṣaṅgika (प्रातिपदिक; पूर्व + कल्प + अनुषङ्गिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (पूर्वकल्पस्य अनुषङ्गिकम् = connected with the former kalpa)

• त्रिकालबद्धम्: bound to the three times (past/present/future)
• त्रिकालबद्धम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri-kāla-baddha (प्रातिपदिक; त्रि + काल + बद्ध)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (त्रिषु कालेषु बद्धम् = bound to the three times)

• पापघ्नम्: sin-destroying
• पापघ्नम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa-ghna (प्रातिपदिक; पाप + घ्न)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (पापं हन्ति इति)

• प्रजासर्गस्य: of the creation of beings
• प्रजासर्गस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā-sarga (प्रातिपदिक; प्रजा + सर्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रजानां सर्गः)

• विस्तरम्: the detailed account
• विस्तरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Suta

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Suta
• Narayana

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by attributing the teaching to Nārāyaṇa and calling it “sin-destroying,” the verse frames sacred knowledge as purifying and time-transcending (tri-kāla), preparing the listener for insight into the enduring reality behind changing creation.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is stated; the practice implied is śravaṇa (reverent hearing) of Nārāyaṇa’s teaching, treated in Purāṇic tradition as a purificatory discipline that supports dharma and inner clarity—foundational for later Yoga-oriented instruction in the text.

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

This verse centers on Nārāyaṇa as the source of the account; within the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such narration functions as a shared theological frame in which cosmic creation and liberation teachings are presented without sectarian rupture.