Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 48

Divine Abodes on the Mountains — A Sacred Survey of Jambūdvīpa

Kailāsa to Siddha Realms

Devanagari script

तेषु रुद्रा महायोगा महेशान्तरचारिणः / समासते परं ज्योतिरारूढाः स्थानमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

teṣu rudrā mahāyogā maheśāntaracāriṇaḥ / samāsate paraṃ jyotirārūḍhāḥ sthānamuttamam

Translation

ان میں رُدر—عظیم یوگی، جو مہادیو کے باطن میں سیر کرتے ہیں—پرَم نور پر عروج پا کر اعلیٰ ترین مقام میں مقیم رہتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• teṣu: among them
• teṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Plural

• rudrāḥ: Rudras
• rudrāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• mahā-yogāḥ: great yogins
• mahā-yogāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; compound: mahā yogaḥ (great yogins/possessing great yoga)

• maheśa-antara-cāriṇaḥ: moving within Maheśa (Śiva)
• maheśa-antara-cāriṇaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: maheśa (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक) + cārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; compound: maheśasya antare cāriṇaḥ (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष; 'moving within Maheśa')

• samāsate: they sit/abide
• samāsate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√ās (आस् धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), Ātmanepada, 3rd person, Plural

• param: supreme
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; used as adjective to jyotiḥ

• jyotiḥ: light/splendor
• jyotiḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyotis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• ārūḍhāḥ: having ascended
• ārūḍhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ārūḍha (कृदन्त; आ+रुह् धातु, क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; past participle used adjectivally

• sthānam: abode/place
• sthānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• uttamam: highest
• uttamam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular; agrees with sthānam

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic discourse within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis, describing the Rudras’ yogic attainment)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Rudras
• Maheśa (Shiva)
• Param Jyotis (Supreme Light)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

It presents the Supreme as “param jyotis” (the Supreme Light), a transcendent reality attained and abided in—suggesting liberation as stabilization in a luminous, highest state beyond ordinary embodiment.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes consummate Yoga: becoming “maheśāntaracāriṇaḥ,” i.e., inwardly established in Shiva-consciousness, culminating in ascent to the Supreme Light—an idiom consistent with Pāśupata-leaning, absorptive meditation (samādhi-like abiding).

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

By describing liberation through abiding in Maheśa while framed inside the Kurma Purana’s broader theological synthesis, it supports a non-competitive, integrative vision where the supreme goal is expressed through Shiva-language within a Vaishnava Purana context.