Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 47

Śrāddha-Kāla-Nirṇaya: Proper Times, Nakṣatra Fruits, Tīrtha Merit, and Offerings for Ancestral Rites

Devanagari script

कुसुम्भपिण्डमूलं वै तन्दुलीयकमेव च / राजमाषांस्तथा क्षीरं माहिषं च विवर्जयेत्

Transliteration

kusumbhapiṇḍamūlaṃ vai tandulīyakameva ca / rājamāṣāṃstathā kṣīraṃ māhiṣaṃ ca vivarjayet

Translation

کُسُمبھ پِنڈ کی جڑ، تَندُلییک ساگ، راج ماش اور بھینس کا دودھ—ان سب سے پرہیز کرنا چاہیے۔

Word by Word

• kusumbha-piṇḍa-mūlam: kusumbha-piṇḍa root (a kind of tuber)
• kusumbha-piṇḍa-mūlam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kusumbha (प्रातिपदिक) + piṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + mūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: ‘root/tuber called kusumbha-piṇḍa-mūla’

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphasis/assurance

• tandulīyakam: tandulīyaka (a leafy vegetable)
• tandulīyakam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tandulīyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphasis

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• rājamāṣān: rājamāṣa beans (a variety of black gram)
• rājamāṣān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja (प्रातिपदिक) + māṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Plural (बहुवचन); tatpuruṣa: rāja-māṣa = ‘royal/large black-gram’

• tathā: also
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb/particle (क्रियाविशेषण/निपात): ‘also’

• kṣīram: milk
• kṣīram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• māhiṣam: buffalo (i.e., buffalo’s)
• māhiṣam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māhiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); adjective qualifying kṣīram

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• vivarjayet: should avoid
• vivarjayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-varj (धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

Speaker

Kurma (Vishnu) instructing on dharma and observances

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Kurma
• Vishnu
• vrata
• āhāra-niyama

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it emphasizes purification through restraint (niyama). In the Kurma Purana’s soteriology, disciplined conduct—including regulated diet—supports inner clarity (sattva) that makes Self-knowledge (ātma-jñāna) and devotion to Īśvara stable.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

This verse highlights the preparatory limb of Yoga: āhāra-niyama (dietary regulation) as part of śauca and vrata. Such restraint is treated as supportive of japa, dhyāna, and steadiness of mind—key prerequisites in Pāśupata-oriented purification and worship.

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

By focusing on shared dharmic discipline rather than sectarian difference: the same purity-based restraints underpin both Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva worship in the Kurma Purana’s integrative framework, where devotion and conduct converge toward one Īśvara-centered realization.