Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 52

Ikṣvāku-vaṃśa (Genealogy) culminating in Rāma; Setu-liṅga Māhātmya; Continuation through Kuśa and Lava

Devanagari script

स्नानं दानं जपः श्राद्धं भविष्यत्यक्ष्यं कृतम् / स्मरणादेव लिङ्गस्य दिनपापं प्रणश्यति

Transliteration

snānaṃ dānaṃ japaḥ śrāddhaṃ bhaviṣyatyakṣyaṃ kṛtam / smaraṇādeva liṅgasya dinapāpaṃ praṇaśyati

Translation

یہاں غسل، دان، جپ اور شرادھ—ان کا پھل اَکشَی (ناقابلِ زوال) ہو جاتا ہے؛ اور محض لِنگ کے سمرن سے دن بھر کے گناہ مٹ جاتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• snānam: bathing
• snānam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• dānam: gift/charity
• dānam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• japaḥ: muttering/prayer
• japaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: japa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• śrāddham: śrāddha rite
• śrāddham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrāddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhaviṣyati: will become/will be
• bhaviṣyati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: Future (लृट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• akṣyam: imperishable
• akṣyam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); (orthography: akṣyam for akṣayam) qualifies implied ‘phalam’ or the set of acts as ‘imperishable’

• kṛtam: done/accomplished
• kṛtam: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Past passive participle (कर्मणि भूतकृदन्त/क्त), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); predicative ‘(it is) done/accomplished’

• smaraṇāt: from remembering/by remembrance
• smaraṇāt: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Avadharana (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable particle (अव्यय/निपात), emphasis

• liṅgasya: of the liṅga
• liṅgasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• dina-pāpam: daily sin
• dina-pāpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); compound: ‘dinasya pāpam’ (sin of the day)

• praṇaśyati: perishes/is destroyed
• praṇaśyati: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √naś (धातु) + pra- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Present (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching Śiva-dharma within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Liṅga (Śiva)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It implies that inner recollection (smaraṇa) has immediate purifying power—pointing to a dharmic view where consciousness aligned to Īśvara (here, Śiva as Liṅga) dissolves pāpa, suggesting the primacy of inner orientation over merely external acts.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Liṅga-smaraṇa (remembrance/contemplation of Śiva’s Liṅga) is emphasized as a direct sādhana; alongside it, japa is affirmed, and snāna, dāna, and śrāddha are framed as supportive karma-yoga disciplines whose merit becomes akṣayya when integrated with devotion and remembrance.

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

With Vishnu (as Lord Kurma) teaching the salvific efficacy of Śiva’s Liṅga, the text models Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis: devotion to Śiva is upheld within a Vaishnava narrative voice, reflecting non-competitive unity of Īśvara in Purāṇic theology.