Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 36

Rudrakoṭi, Madhuvana, Puṣpanagarī, and Kālañjara — Śveta’s Bhakti and the Subjugation of Kāla

Devanagari script

नास्ति कश्चिदपीशान दोषलेशो वृषध्वज / कृतान्तस्यैव भवता तत्कार्ये विनियोजितः

Transliteration

nāsti kaścidapīśāna doṣaleśo vṛṣadhvaja / kṛtāntasyaiva bhavatā tatkārye viniyojitaḥ

Translation

اے ایشان، اے وِرش دھوج! آپ میں عیب کا ذرّہ بھر بھی نہیں؛ خود کِرتانت نے آپ کو اپنے کام کے لیے مقرر کیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• asti: is/exists
• asti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• kaścit: anyone/anything
• kaścit: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścid (कश्चिद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masc.), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• īśāna: O Īśāna (Lord)
• īśāna: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśāna (ईशान प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case/vocative), एकवचन

• doṣa-leśaḥ: a trace of fault
• doṣa-leśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: doṣa (दोष प्रातिपदिक) + leśa (लेश प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: 'a speck of fault'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vṛṣa-dhvaja: O Bull-bannered (Śiva)
• vṛṣa-dhvaja: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣa (वृष प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (ध्वज प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि (one whose banner is the bull); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• kṛtāntasya: of Yama (Death)
• kṛtāntasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛtānta (कृतान्त प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case/genitive), एकवचन

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

• bhavatā: by you
• bhavatā: Karana (करण/instrument/agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (भवत् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case/instrumental), एकवचन; आदरार्थक-सर्वनाम (honorific 'you')

• tat-kārye: in that task
• tat-kārye: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (तत् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kārya (कार्य प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समास (that + task: 'that task'); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case/locative), एकवचन

• viniyojitaḥ: appointed/assigned
• viniyojitaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया/predicative: 'was appointed')
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-ni-yuj (वि-नि-युज् धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त—भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle, PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

A devotee/sage addressing Lord Shiva (Śiva-stuti within the Kurma Purana narrative frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Ishana (Shiva)
• Vrishadhvaja (Shiva)
• Kritanta (Time/Death)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By declaring Śiva entirely faultless while engaged in fearsome cosmic functions, the verse implies a key Purāṇic-vedāntic idea: the Supreme is untouched by action and its moral taints; only roles within Time’s order appear as ‘doing’ in the world.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse supports a contemplative discipline central to Pāśupata and Purāṇic bhakti-yoga: seeing divine actions (even dissolution/saṃhāra) as expressions of cosmic order (Kṛtānta/Time), which stabilizes equanimity, reduces blame, and deepens surrender (śaraṇāgati).

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

It presents Śiva as a divinely commissioned power within the single cosmic governance of Time/Īśvara—an outlook that aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis, where Śiva and Viṣṇu function harmoniously as aspects of one supreme order.