Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 38

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

Devanagari script

सहस्त्रशीर्षपादं च सहस्त्राक्षं महाभुजम् / सहस्त्रपाणिं दुर्धर्षं युगान्तानलसन्निभम्

Transliteration

sahastraśīrṣapādaṃ ca sahastrākṣaṃ mahābhujam / sahastrapāṇiṃ durdharṣaṃ yugāntānalasannibham

Translation

وہ ہزار سروں اور قدموں والا، ہزار آنکھوں والا، عظیم بازوؤں والا ہے؛ ہزار ہاتھوں والا، ناقابلِ مغلوب، اور یُگ کے اختتام کی آگ کی مانند دہکتا ہوا۔

Word by Word

• सहस्त्रशीर्षपादम्: having a thousand heads and feet
• सहस्त्रशीर्षपादम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र-शीर्ष-पाद (प्रातिपदिक; सहस्र=1000 + शीर्ष=head + पाद=foot)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषण (acc. sg. n.)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सहस्त्राक्षम्: thousand-eyed
• सहस्त्राक्षम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र-अक्ष (प्रातिपदिक; सहस्र=1000 + अक्ष=eye)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• महाभुजम्: great-armed
• महाभुजम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा-भुज (प्रातिपदिक; महा=great + भुज=arm)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• सहस्त्रपाणिम्: thousand-handed
• सहस्त्रपाणिम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र-पाणि (प्रातिपदिक; सहस्र=1000 + पाणि=hand)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• दुर्धर्षम्: hard to assail, irresistible
• दुर्धर्षम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्धर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• युगान्तानलसन्निभम्: like the fire at the end of an age
• युगान्तानलसन्निभम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युग-अन्त-अनल-सन्निभ (प्रातिपदिक; युग=age + अन्त=end + अनल=fire + सन्निभ=like)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) as the teacher describing the Supreme/Īśvara for contemplation

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: raudra

Characters & Entities

• Kurma
• Vishnu
• Īśvara (Supreme Lord)
• Vishvarūpa (Cosmic Form)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By portraying the Lord as cosmic and all-pervading (thousand heads, eyes, hands), the verse points to the Supreme as not limited to one body—Īśvara/Ātman is vast, sovereign, and beyond ordinary measures.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It supports īśvara-dhyāna: steady contemplation of the Lord’s viśvarūpa—invincible and radiant like yugānta fire—so the mind becomes one-pointed (ekāgratā) and devotion (bhakti) deepens into yogic absorption.

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

The description emphasizes one supreme Īśvara with an all-encompassing form; in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such cosmic attributes apply to the single highest reality revered through both Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms.