Shloka 39

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

Devanagari script

ततः स्थितेषु वर्णेषु स्थापयामास चाश्रमान् / गृहस्थं च वनस्थं च भिक्षुकं ब्रह्मचारिणम्

Transliteration

tataḥ sthiteṣu varṇeṣu sthāpayāmāsa cāśramān / gṛhasthaṃ ca vanasthaṃ ca bhikṣukaṃ brahmacāriṇam

Translation

ครั้นเมื่อวรรณะทั้งหลายตั้งมั่นแล้ว ท่านจึงสถาปนาอาศรมทั้งสี่ คือ คฤหัสถ์ วนัสถะ (วานปรัสถ์) ภิกษุกะ (สันยาสี) และพรหมจารี.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण/Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय; tad + tas)
• Form: Tasil-anta avyaya (adverb): ‘then/thereafter’

• sthiteṣu: when (they were) established
• sthiteṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Locative setting)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthita (कृदन्त; from sthā धातु) used adjectivally
• Form: Kta-participle; Puṃliṅga, Saptamī (Locative, 7th), Bahuvacana; agrees with 'varṇeṣu'

• varṇeṣu: in the varṇas (social classes)
• varṇeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī, Bahuvacana

• sthāpayāmāsa: he established, set up
• sthāpayāmāsa: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) causative sthāpaya + as (aux in periphrastic perfect)
• Form: Liṭ (Periphrastic Perfect), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana; parasmaipada; causative sense

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction)

• āśramān: āśramas (stages of life)
• āśramān: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Bahuvacana

• gṛhastham: householder
• gṛhastham: Karma (कर्म/Object) (member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛhastha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana; in apposition/list with other āśramas

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction)

• vanastham: forest-dweller (vānaprastha)
• vanastham: Karma (कर्म/Object) (member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vanastha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction)

• bhikṣukam: mendicant, beggar (renunciate)
• bhikṣukam: Karma (कर्म/Object) (member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhikṣuka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

• brahmacāriṇam: celibate student
• brahmacāriṇam: Karma (कर्म/Object) (member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmacārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) recounting the cosmic/social ordering attributed to the Lord

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Varna
• Ashrama
• Grihastha
• Vanastha
• Bhikshuka
• Brahmacharin

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by laying down varṇa–āśrama as a dharmic framework, the text implies that inner realization (ātma-jñāna) is supported by disciplined living—purifying conduct so knowledge and devotion can mature.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is named; the verse sets the prerequisite structure for sādhanā. Brahmacarya supports study and restraint, vānaprastha supports austerity and withdrawal, and bhikṣuka (saṃnyāsa) supports single-pointed contemplation—often the setting in which higher Yoga is pursued in the Kurma Purana’s later teachings.

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

It presents dharma as a unified, supra-sectarian order established by the Lord for liberation. In the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, this shared dharma-ground becomes the common path on which both Vaiṣṇava devotion and Śaiva/Pāśupata-oriented renunciation can culminate in the same highest truth.