Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 40

Measure of the Three Worlds, Planetary Spheres, and Sūrya as the Root of Trailokya

Devanagari script

दिवाकरकरैरेतत् पूरितं भुवनत्रयम् / त्रैलोक्यं कथितं सद्भिर्लोकानां मुनिपुङ्गवाः

Transliteration

divākarakarairetat pūritaṃ bhuvanatrayam / trailokyaṃ kathitaṃ sadbhirlokānāṃ munipuṅgavāḥ

Translation

Sa pamamagitan ng mga sinag ng Araw, ang buong tatlong daigdig ay napupuno at nalulukuban. Kaya, O pinakadakilang mga muni, tinawag ito ng mga banal na “tatlong mundo” (trailokya) sa gitna ng lahat ng mga kaharian.

Word by Word

• दिवाकरकरैः: by the sun’s rays
• दिवाकरकरैः: करण (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवाकर-कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; ‘दिवाकरस्य कराः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (context: object)

• पूरितम्: filled
• पूरितम्: कर्मणि-भाव (Result state/कर्मणि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूर् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘filled’

• भुवनत्रयम्: the three worlds
• भुवनत्रयम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुवन-त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (‘त्रीणि भुवनानि’)

• त्रैलोक्यम्: the threefold world
• त्रैलोक्यम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि-लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (‘त्रीणि लोकानि’)

• कथितम्: declared
• कथितम्: कर्मणि-भाव (Passive predicate/कर्मणि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘told/declared’

• सद्भिः: by the good (sages)
• सद्भिः: कर्ता (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘सत्’ = good/virtuous persons

• लोकानाम्: of the worlds / of people
• लोकानाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• मुनिपुङ्गवाः: O best of sages
• मुनिपुङ्गवाः: सम्बोधन/कर्ता (Addressed/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि-पुङ्गव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘मुनीनां पुङ्गवाः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic discourse tradition, addressing the sages)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Divākara (Sun)
• Trailokya
• Bhuvana-traya
• Munis

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by pointing to the Sun’s all-pervading rays that ‘fill’ the worlds, it offers a cosmological analogy for pervasion—useful for contemplating how the one Reality can be present throughout the many realms.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse supports a dhyāna (contemplation) approach: meditate on pervasion (vyāpti) and order in the cosmos—seeing the world as sustained by a governing principle—an aid to Ishvara-bhāvanā emphasized elsewhere in the Kurma Purana’s yoga-oriented teachings.

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

Not explicitly; its focus is cosmology. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmic order is ultimately grounded in the one Ishvara, revered through both Shiva and Vishnu forms.