Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16

Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage

Devanagari script

तत्र देवो महादेवो रुद्रो विश्वामरेश्वरः / समास्ते भगवान् ब्रह्मा स्वयंभूरपि दैवदैः

Transliteration

tatra devo mahādevo rudro viśvāmareśvaraḥ / samāste bhagavān brahmā svayaṃbhūrapi daivadaiḥ

Translation

وہاں دیوتاؤں کے دیوتا مہادیو—رُدر، کائنات اور اَمر دیوتاؤں کے ایشور—تشریف فرما ہیں؛ اور وہیں سَویَمبھو بھگوان برہما بھی دیوتاؤں کے ساتھ بیٹھے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण): ‘there’

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• mahā-devaḥ: Mahādeva
• mahā-devaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; appositional epithet

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; apposition

• viśva-amara-īśvaraḥ: lord of the universe and immortals
• viśva-amara-īśvaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + amara (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; tatpuruṣa: ‘lord of the universe and the immortals’ (apposition)

• samāste: abides
• samāste: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√ās (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), 3rd person, Singular, Ātmanepada: ‘sits/abides’

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; honorific epithet

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• svayaṃ-bhūḥ: the self-born
• svayaṃ-bhūḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svayam (अव्यय) + bhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular; avyayībhāva: ‘self-born’ (epithet of Brahmā)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात): ‘also’

• daiva-daiḥ: with the boon-giving gods
• daiva-daiḥ: Sahakārī/Karaṇa (सहकारी/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiva-da (प्रातिपदिक; ‘giver of boons’)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural; ‘by/with the boon-givers’ (i.e., gods)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narration, traditionally Sūta/Vyāsa line)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Mahadeva (Shiva/Rudra)
• Brahma (Svayambhu)
• Devas (Daivataiḥ)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by portraying Rudra (Mahādeva) and Brahmā in a cosmic assembly, it frames the Purāṇic vision of divine governance where the Supreme principle is approached through īśvara-tattva—God as the ordering, presiding reality behind the cosmos.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit practice is taught in this verse; however, the depiction of Mahādeva as viśvāmareśvara (universal Lord) supports the Kurma Purana’s broader yoga-theology where īśvara-bhāvanā (contemplation of the Lord) and devotion to Rudra/Nārāyaṇa become a foundation for discipline later articulated in Pāśupata-oriented teachings.

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

By placing Rudra as the presiding Lord within the same sacred narrative stream that elsewhere features Viṣṇu/Kūrma as teacher, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance: sectarian forms differ, yet divine sovereignty is presented as harmonizable within a single Purāṇic theology.