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Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28

Tāmasa Sarga, the Androgynous Division of Brahmā, and the Lineages of Dharma and Adharma

दुः खोत्तराः स्मृता ह्येते सर्वे चाधर्मलक्षणाः / नैषां भार्यास्ति पुत्रो वा सर्वे ते ह्यूर्ध्वरेतसः

duḥ khottarāḥ smṛtā hyete sarve cādharmalakṣaṇāḥ / naiṣāṃ bhāryāsti putro vā sarve te hyūrdhvaretasaḥ

یہ سب دُکھ پر منتہی ہونے والے اور ادھرم کی علامت رکھنے والے سمجھے گئے ہیں۔ نہ ان کی بیوی ہے نہ بیٹا؛ یہ سب اُوردھوریتس ہیں۔

duḥkha-uttarāḥhaving sorrow as their outcome/ending in sorrow
duḥkha-uttarāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootduḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
Formतत्पुरुषसमास (determinative) ‘दुःखम् उत्तरं येषाम्/दुःखोत्तर’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; एते इति विशेषणम्
smṛtāḥare regarded/are said
smṛtāḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootsmṛ (धातु)
Formकृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘are considered/are said’
hiindeed
hi:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Roothi (अव्यय)
Formनिपात (emphasis/causal)
etethese
ete:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootetad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formसर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन
sarveall
sarve:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootsarva (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; एते इति विशेषणम्
caand
ca:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
Formसमुच्चय (conjunction)
adharma-lakṣaṇāḥcharacterized by adharma
adharma-lakṣaṇāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootadharma (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formतत्पुरुषसमास (determinative) ‘अधर्मस्य लक्षणम्’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; एते इति विशेषणम्
nanot
na:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध (negation particle)
eṣāmof these (for them)
eṣām:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
TypeNoun
Rootetad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formसर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Gen. 6), बहुवचन
bhāryāwife
bhāryā:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootbhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
astiexists/is
asti:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootas (धातु)
Formलट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद
putraḥson
putraḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootputra (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
or
:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootvā (अव्यय)
Formविकल्प (disjunctive particle)
sarveall
sarve:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootsarva (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ते इति विशेषणम्
tethey
te:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formसर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन
hiindeed
hi:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Roothi (अव्यय)
Formनिपात (emphasis)
ūrdhva-retasaḥhaving upward semen (celibate/continent)
ūrdhva-retasaḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक) + retas (प्रातिपदिक)
Formबहुव्रीहिसमास (possessive) ‘ऊर्ध्वं रेतः येषाम्’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ते इति विशेषणम्

Suta (narrator) recounting the teaching within the Kurma Purana’s dharma discourse

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa

D
Dharma
A
Adharma
U
Urdhvaretas

FAQs

Indirectly: it frames adharma as a cause of duḥkha, implying that liberation-oriented life must align conduct with dharma so the mind becomes fit for Self-knowledge rather than bondage-producing action.

The verse points to an ascetic orientation—ūrdhvaretas—often associated with brahmacarya and the sublimation of vital energy, a prerequisite in many Yoga-shastra and Pashupata-leaning disciplines for steadiness and inner purity.

Not explicitly; it contributes to the Kurma Purana’s shared Shaiva–Vaishnava ethic by grounding higher practice (including Pashupata-style restraint) in dharma and warning that adharma culminates in suffering.