Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 31

Tīrtha-māhātmya and Rudra’s Samanvaya Teaching

Maṅkaṇaka Episode

Devanagari script

उत्तरं चापि गोकर्णं लिङ्गं देवस्य शूलिनः / महादेवस्यार्चयित्वा शिवसायुज्यमाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

uttaraṃ cāpi gokarṇaṃ liṅgaṃ devasya śūlinaḥ / mahādevasyārcayitvā śivasāyujyamāpnuyāt

Translation

اُتّر گوكَرْن میں بھی ترشول دھاری دیو کا لِنگ قائم ہے۔ وہاں مہادیو کی عبادت سے بھکت شِو کے ساتھ سَایُجْیَ—کامل اتحاد—حاصل کرتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• uttaram: northern; further
• uttaram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; nominative/accusative singular (qualifying gokarṇam)

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

• api: also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/समुच्चय (particle ‘also/even’)

• gokarṇam: Gokarṇa (place)
• gokarṇam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go + karṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; nominative/accusative singular; समास: तत्पुरुष

• liṅgam: the liṅga
• liṅgam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; nominative/accusative singular

• devasya: of the god
• devasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; genitive singular

• śūlinaḥ: of the trident-bearer
• śūlinaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūlin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; genitive singular (epithet of Śiva)

• mahādevasya: of Mahādeva
• mahādevasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahādeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; genitive singular; समास: कर्मधारय (mahān devaḥ)

• arcayitvā: having worshipped
• arcayitvā: Kriyā (क्रियापूर्वक)
• Type: Verb
• Root: arc (अर्च् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having worshipped’

• śivasāyujyam: union with Śiva
• śivasāyujyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiva + sāyujya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; accusative singular; समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (śivasya sāyujyam)

• āpnuyāt: would attain
• āpnuyāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (आप् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; parasmaipada; ‘may attain’

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) instructing sages (tīrtha-māhātmya context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Gokarṇa
• Uttara-Gokarṇa
• Śiva
• Mahādeva
• Śūlin (Trident-bearing Śiva)
• Liṅga

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By presenting “Śiva-sāyujya” as the fruit of liṅga-worship, the verse frames liberation as intimate union with the Supreme Lord (Īśvara) realized through devotion and sacred practice, rather than as a merely worldly reward.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes bhakti-based sādhana—arcana (ritual worship) at a tīrtha—implying disciplined purity, focus, and one-pointed devotion (ekāgratā) as the practical means leading toward liberating union (sāyujya).

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

With Lord Kūrma (a Viṣṇu form) praising Śiva’s liṅga and declaring Śiva-sāyujya as the goal, the text models Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology where devotion to Śiva is affirmed within a Vaiṣṇava narrative voice.