Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16

Yuga-Dharma: The Four Ages, Decline of Dharma, and the Rise of Social Order

Devanagari script

आद्यं कृतयुगं प्रोक्तं ततस्त्रेतायुगं बुधैः / तृतीयं द्वापरं पार्थ चतुर्थं कलिरुच्यते

Transliteration

ādyaṃ kṛtayugaṃ proktaṃ tatastretāyugaṃ budhaiḥ / tṛtīyaṃ dvāparaṃ pārtha caturthaṃ kalirucyate

Translation

پہلا عہد کِرتَ یُگ کہلاتا ہے؛ اس کے بعد دانا لوگ تریتا یُگ بیان کرتے ہیں۔ تیسرا دُوَاپر ہے، اے پارتھ، اور چوتھا کلی یُگ کہا جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• ādyaṃ: first
• ādyaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of kṛtayugam
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (एकवचन); ordinal adjective used substantively

• kṛta-yugam: Kṛta-yuga (Satya-yuga)
• kṛta-yugam: Karta (कर्ता) / subject of proktam
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa compound (kṛtaṃ yugaṃ)

• proktam: is declared
• proktam: Kriyā (क्रिया) / predicate
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु) with pra-; past passive participle (क्त)
• Form: Kta-participle (क्त), Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; passive sense ‘has been said/declared’

• tatas: thereafter
• tatas: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb of sequence (ततः = thereafter)

• tretā-yugam: Tretā-yuga
• tretā-yugam: Karta (कर्ता) / subject (elliptic with proktam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tretā (प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa compound

• budhaiḥ: by the wise
• budhaiḥ: Kartṛ-karaṇa / Agent in passive (कर्तृ, तृतीया)
• Type: Noun
• Root: budha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (पुंलिङ्ग), Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Bahuvacana (बहुवचन)

• tṛtīyam: third
• tṛtīyam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of dvāparam
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ordinal adjective used substantively

• dvāparam: Dvāpāra(-yuga)
• dvāparam: Karta (कर्ता) / subject (elliptic with proktam/ucyate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; (yuga understood)

• pārtha: O Pārtha
• pārtha: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन), Ekavacana

• caturtham: fourth
• caturtham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of kaliḥ (yuga implied)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; ordinal adjective used substantively

• kaliḥ: Kali(-yuga)
• kaliḥ: Karta (कर्ता) / subject of ucyate
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; (yuga implied)

• ucyate: is called
• ucyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (लट्, present), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; Ātmanepada passive (कर्मणि प्रयोग)

Speaker

Narrator/Sage addressing the listener as “Pārtha” (didactic address within the Purāṇic discourse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Kṛta Yuga
• Tretā Yuga
• Dvāpara Yuga
• Kali Yuga
• Pārtha

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse does not define Ātman directly; it frames the cosmic setting of time (yugas) in which spiritual discipline and realization of the Self are pursued, implying that liberation-teachings operate within repeating cycles of ages.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is named in this verse; it provides the yuga-sequence that later passages use to explain how dharma, sādhanā, and authoritative disciplines (including Pāśupata-oriented and Vaiṣṇava devotion) vary in emphasis across different ages.

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

The verse is neutral on deity-relations and focuses on yuga order; in the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmological structuring supports a unified sacred framework in which both Śiva-oriented and Viṣṇu-oriented paths are taught for different temperaments and times.