Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 11

Vānaprastha-Dharma: Forest Discipline, Vaikhānasa Austerities, and Śiva-Āśrama as the Liberative Refuge

Devanagari script

देवताभ्यश्च तद् हुत्वा वन्यं मेध्यतरं हविः / शेषं समुपभुञ्जीत लवणं च स्वयं कृतम्

Transliteration

devatābhyaśca tad hutvā vanyaṃ medhyataraṃ haviḥ / śeṣaṃ samupabhuñjīta lavaṇaṃ ca svayaṃ kṛtam

Translation

اس ہوی کو دیوتاؤں کے لیے ہُت کرکے، جنگل سے حاصل شدہ اور زیادہ پاکیزہ ہوی کو یَجْیَہ کا بھوجن سمجھے؛ پھر باقی حصہ خود تیار کیے ہوئے نمک کے ساتھ تناول کرے۔

Word by Word

• देवताभ्यः: to the deities
• देवताभ्यः: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (सम्प्रदान/दत्ते), बहुवचन; Dative plural (to/for)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तत्: that (offering)
• तत्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Pronoun, Accusative singular

• हुत्वा: having offered (as oblation)
• हुत्वा: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘having offered’

• वन्यम्: forest-produced/wild
• वन्यम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; adjective qualifying हविः

• मेध्यतरम्: more pure/fit for sacrifice
• मेध्यतरम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेध्यतर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक-विशेषण (comparative) qualifying हविः

• हविः: oblation
• हविः: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हविस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular (object of हुत्वा)

• शेषम्: the remainder
• शेषम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• सम्-उपभुञ्जीत: should partake/eat
• सम्-उपभुञ्जीत: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+उप+भुज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष? actually मध्यमपुरुष implied injunction; परस्मैपद, एकवचन; ‘he should partake’ (3rd sg optative used injunctively)

• लवणम्: salt
• लवणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लवण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular (as item to be taken)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• स्वयम्: by oneself
• स्वयम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; manner-adverb (by oneself)

• कृतम्: made/prepared
• कृतम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; agreeing with लवणम्

Speaker

Traditional narrator in a dharma-instruction passage (Kurma Purana’s prescriptive voice)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Havis (sacrificial offering)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by insisting on offering first and then consuming the purified remainder (śeṣa), the verse supports the Kurma Purana’s ethic of self-restraint and consecration—disciplines that purify the mind, making it fit to recognize the Atman beyond appetite and ego.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Āhāra-śuddhi (purity of intake) and yajña-śeṣa-bhojana (eating only what remains after offering) are emphasized as practical tapas supporting steadiness of mind—an auxiliary discipline aligned with the Purana’s broader yoga-ethics, including Pāśupata-oriented restraint and purity.

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

Not explicitly in wording; however, the shared dharma of consecrated offering and purified living is presented as a common spiritual foundation across Shaiva and Vaishnava paths in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis.