Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 74

Aśauca-vidhi — Rules of Birth/Death Impurity, Sapinda Circles, and Śrāddha Sequence

Devanagari script

अथ कश्चित् प्रमादेन म्रियते ऽग्निविषादिभिः / तस्याशौचं विधातव्यं कार्यं चैवोदकादिकम्

Transliteration

atha kaścit pramādena mriyate 'gniviṣādibhiḥ / tasyāśaucaṃ vidhātavyaṃ kāryaṃ caivodakādikam

Translation

اور اگر کوئی شخص غفلت کے سبب آگ، زہر وغیرہ سے مر جائے تو اس کے لیے آشوچ لازم ہے؛ اور پانی کی نذر (اُدک) وغیرہ کے معمول کے اعمال بھی ضرور کیے جائیں۔

Word by Word

• atha: now/then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (discourse particle/अथ)

• kaścit: someone
• kaścit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścid (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• pramādena: through negligence
• pramādena: Karana (करण/Cause-instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन

• mriyate: dies
• mriyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √mṛ (मृ, धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• agni-viṣa-ādibhiḥ: by fire, poison, etc.
• agni-viṣa-ādibhiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक) + viṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: अग्नि + विष + आदि; तृतीया, बहुवचन

• tasya: for him/of him
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• aśaucam: impurity (aśauca)
• aśaucam: Karma (कर्म/Object of vidhātavyam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśauca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vidhātavyam: is to be prescribed
• vidhātavyam: Kriya (क्रिया/Obligation predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidhātavya (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त/gerundive from √dhā with vi-)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय ‘to be prescribed/ordained’

• kāryam: (it) is to be done
• kāryam: Karta (कर्ता/Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त/gerundive from √kṛ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘to be done’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण (emphatic particle/अवधारण-अव्यय)

• udaka-ādikam: water-rites etc.
• udaka-ādikam: Karma (कर्म/Object implied with kāryam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udaka (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: उदक + आदि; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying Dharma-instructions as preserved in the Kurma Purana

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily a Dharma injunction on āśauca and post-death rites; it does not directly teach ātman-doctrine, but it assumes the Vedic framework where proper rites sustain social and spiritual order (dharma) even amid untimely death.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific Yoga practice is taught in this verse; it belongs to the ritual-ethical layer of the Kurma Purana, complementing (rather than replacing) later contemplative teachings such as the Kurma Purana Ishvara Gita and Pashupata-oriented disciplines.

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

The verse does not explicitly mention Shiva or Vishnu; its contribution is indirect—by upholding dharma-based rites that the Kurma Purana integrates with its broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis and spiritual teaching.