Shloka 44

Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya

Devanagari script

भूतादिर्महता तद्वदव्यक्तेनावृतो महान् / एते लोका महात्मनः सर्वतत्त्वाभिमानिनः

Transliteration

bhūtādirmahatā tadvadavyaktenāvṛto mahān / ete lokā mahātmanaḥ sarvatattvābhimāninaḥ

Translation

اے مہاتما! بھوتادی تَتّووں کا مجموعہ مہت کے اندر محیط ہے، اور مہت بھی اسی طرح اَویَکت سے ڈھکا ہوا ہے۔ اے بزرگ دل! یہ عوالم سب تَتّووں کے ابھیمان سے سراسر معمور ہیں۔

Word by Word

• bhūta-ādiḥ: the beginning/source of beings
• bhūta-ādiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā-vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular); ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: bhūtānām ādiḥ

• mahatā: by the great (principle)
• mahatā: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/napuṃsakaliṅga (Masc/Neut), Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental, 3rd), Ekavacana (Singular)

• tadvat: likewise
• tadvat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Adverbial relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-निपात)
• Form: Avyaya; upamā-arthaka (adverbial: ‘likewise/so’)

• avyaktena: by the unmanifest (principle)
• avyaktena: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-vyakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (Neuter), Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental, 3rd), Ekavacana (Singular)

• āvṛtaḥ: covered/enveloped
• āvṛtaḥ: Karta-anuguṇa (कर्तृअनुगुण/Predicate adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√vṛ (वृञ्/धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Kta-participle (past passive participle); Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Ekavacana; karmaṇi-prayoga sense ‘covered’

• mahān: the Great (Mahat)
• mahān: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• ete: these
• ete: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Determiner)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• lokāḥ: worlds/realms
• lokāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• mahātmanaḥ: great-souled
• mahātmanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā-ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural); karmadhāraya: mahān ātmā yeṣām

• sarva-tattva-abhimāninaḥ: identifying with all principles (tattvas)
• sarva-tattva-abhimāninaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + tattva + abhimānin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural); tatpuruṣa: sarveṣu tattveṣu abhimānaḥ yeṣām

Speaker

Narrator/Sage teaching cosmology (Purāṇic-Sāṃkhya exposition within the Kurma Purana’s discourse framework)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Mahat
• Avyakta
• Bhūtas
• Tattvas
• Lokas

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By showing that worlds and experiences are layered within tattvas (elements → Mahat → Avyakta), the verse implies that the Self is distinct from these coverings; realization requires seeing all such categories as non-Self (ātma-viveka).

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It supports tattva-viveka (discernment of principles) used in meditative withdrawal: one observes identification (abhimāna) with body, mind (Mahat), and causal nature (Avyakta), then releases it—an inner discipline aligned with Purāṇic Yoga and later Pāśupata-oriented renunciation of limited identities.

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

Indirectly, through shared metaphysical language: both Shaiva and Vaishnava teachings in the Kurma Purana employ the same tattva-framework, pointing beyond sectarian forms to the one transcendent reality that is prior to Mahat and Avyakta.