Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 24

Divine Abodes on the Mountains — A Sacred Survey of Jambūdvīpa

Kailāsa to Siddha Realms

Devanagari script

सुमेघे वासवस्थानं सहस्त्रादित्यसंनिभम् / तत्रास्ते भगवानिन्द्रः शच्या सह सुरेश्वरः

Transliteration

sumeghe vāsavasthānaṃ sahastrādityasaṃnibham / tatrāste bhagavānindraḥ śacyā saha sureśvaraḥ

Translation

عمدہ بادلوں کے خطّے میں واسَو (اِندر) کا مسکن ہے جو ہزار سورجوں کی مانند درخشاں ہے۔ وہاں دیوتاؤں کے مالک بھگوان اِندر شچی کے ساتھ رہتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• सु-मेघे: in/at the good cloud (place named Sumegha)
• सु-मेघे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + मेघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; कर्मधारय-समास (सु + मेघ = सुमेघ)

• वासव-स्थानम्: the abode of Vāsava (Indra)
• वासव-स्थानम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासव (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वासवस्य स्थानम्)

• सहस्र-आदित्य-संनिभम्: resembling a thousand suns
• सहस्र-आदित्य-संनिभम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक) + संनिभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; बहुव्रीहि/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः प्रयोगः—तत्पुरुष (सहस्राणाम् आदित्यानाम् संनिभम्) as adjective to स्थानम्

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Desha-adhikarana (देश-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय)

• आस्ते: sits/dwells
• आस्ते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस् (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथम-पुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); Ātmanepada

• भगवान्: the blessed lord
• भगवान्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• इन्द्रः: Indra
• इन्द्रः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• शच्या: with Śacī
• शच्या: Sahakaraka (सहकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शची (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakaraka (सहकारक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle/Preposition-like indeclinable (सह-योगे) governing instrumental

• सुर-ईश्वरः: lord of the gods
• सुर-ईश्वरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सुराणाम् ईश्वरः)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (Vyāsa/Śaunaka tradition) describing the divine geography

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Vāsava)
• Śacī (Indrāṇī)
• Svarga (implicit)
• Suras (gods, implicit)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily cosmographic, describing Indra’s radiant abode; it does not directly teach Ātman-doctrine, but it implicitly contrasts transient heavenly splendor with the higher liberation-teachings emphasized elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit Yoga practice is taught in this verse; it functions as a descriptive backdrop. In the Kurma Purana, systematic Yoga (including Pāśupata-oriented discipline) is treated more directly in later instructional passages.

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

The verse does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu directly; it focuses on Indra’s seat in Svarga. The Kurma Purana’s Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis is developed in other sections, especially where divine supremacy is framed as ultimately non-contradictory.