Shloka 87

Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī

Devanagari script

स शूलाभिहतो ऽत्यर्थं त्यक्त्वा स्वं परमं बलम् / तत्याज जीवितं दृष्ट्वा मृत्युं व्याधिहता इव

Transliteration

sa śūlābhihato 'tyarthaṃ tyaktvā svaṃ paramaṃ balam / tatyāja jīvitaṃ dṛṣṭvā mṛtyuṃ vyādhihatā iva

Translation

ครั้นถูกตรีศูลฟันแทงอย่างหนัก ครั้นละกำลังอันยิ่งใหญ่ของตนแล้ว เมื่อเห็นความตายอยู่เบื้องหน้า เขาก็สิ้นชีวิตดุจสัตว์ที่ล้มลงเพราะโรคร้าย

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• शूल-अभिहतः: struck by the trident
• शूल-अभिहतः: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa of कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभि + हन् (धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: शूलेन अभिहतः; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• अत्यर्थम्: exceedingly
• अत्यर्थम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्यर्थ (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: पूर्वकालक्रिया (Pūrvakāla-kriyā)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund); ‘having abandoned’

• स्वम्: his own
• स्वम्: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa of बलम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन; ‘own’

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa of बलम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन

• बलम्: strength
• बलम्: कर्म (Karma/Object of त्यक्त्वा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन

• तत्याज: abandoned; gave up
• तत्याज: क्रिया (Kriyā/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन

• जीवितम्: life
• जीवितम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीवित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: पूर्वकालक्रिया (Pūrvakāla-kriyā)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund); ‘having seen’

• मृत्युम्: death
• मृत्युम्: कर्म (Karma/Object of दृष्ट्वा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative); एकवचन

• व्याधि-हताः: struck by disease
• व्याधि-हताः: उपमान (Upamāna/Standard of comparison)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: व्याधिना हताः; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); बहुवचन (इव-उपमानार्थे)

• इव: as if; like
• इव: सम्बन्ध (Comparison marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमावाचक (comparative particle)

Speaker

Purana-narrator (Suta/Vyasa tradition) describing the event

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Trident (Shula)
• Death (Mrityu)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By stressing the collapse of bodily “strength” and the inevitability of death, the verse implicitly contrasts the perishable body with the enduring Self taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana: what dies is the embodied condition, not the Atman.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit practice is taught in this line; its contemplative use is as a mṛtyu-smṛti (mindfulness of death) theme that supports vairāgya (dispassion), a prerequisite for the Pashupata-oriented discipline and Ishvara-bhakti emphasized in the text.

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

The trident (śūla), a Shaiva emblem, appears within a Vaishnava Purana’s narrative world—reflecting the Kurma Purana’s synthetic style where Shaiva symbols and teachings can function harmoniously within a broader Hari-Hara theological frame.