Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 95

Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga

Devanagari script

शैवालभोजनाः केचित् केचिदन्तर्जलेशयाः / केचिदभ्रावकाशास्तु पादाङ्गुष्ठाग्रविष्ठिताः

Transliteration

śaivālabhojanāḥ kecit kecidantarjaleśayāḥ / kecidabhrāvakāśāstu pādāṅguṣṭhāgraviṣṭhitāḥ

Translation

کچھ تپسی شَیوال ہی کو غذا بناتے ہیں، کچھ پانی کے اندر ہی لیٹے رہتے ہیں؛ کچھ کھلے آسمان تلے ٹھہرتے ہیں، اور کچھ بڑے پاؤں کے انگوٹھے کی نوک پر توازن کے ساتھ کھڑے رہتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• śaivāla-bhojanāḥ: algae-eaters
• śaivāla-bhojanāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaivāla + bhojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā (nom., 1st), Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: śaivāla ‘algae’ + bhojana ‘eating/food’; ‘those whose food is algae’

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; indefinite pronoun ‘some’

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; ‘some (others)’

• antar-jale-śayāḥ: lying within water
• antar-jale-śayāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antar + jala + śaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: antar ‘within’ + jala ‘water’ + śaya ‘lying/dwelling’

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; ‘some (others)’

• abhra-avakāśāḥ: in open sky
• abhra-avakāśāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhra + avakāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: abhra ‘sky/cloud’ + avakāśa ‘space’; ‘dwelling in open sky’

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya, particle (निपात) expressing contrast/emphasis

• pāda-aṅguṣṭha-agra-viṣṭhitāḥ: standing on the tip of the big toe
• pāda-aṅguṣṭha-agra-viṣṭhitāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāda + aṅguṣṭha + agra + viṣṭhita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa chain: pāda ‘foot’ + aṅguṣṭha ‘big toe’ + agra ‘tip’ + viṣṭhita ‘standing/placed’; ‘standing on the tip of the big toe’

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing in a didactic narrative context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kūrma
• ascetics (munis/tapasvins)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By cataloguing extreme austerities, the verse implies that bodily hardship is a means of discipline; realization of the Self is not mere physical endurance, but the inner steadiness (niṣṭhā) such practices are meant to cultivate.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It highlights tapas-oriented yogic restraints: regulated diet (algae as minimal sustenance), water-immersion endurance, exposure to the elements, and one-pointed steadiness in posture (standing fixed on toe-tips), all aiming at concentration and sense-withdrawal.

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

The verse presents ascetic discipline in a shared pan-Indian yogic idiom associated with Pāśupata and Vaiṣṇava streams alike, reflecting the Kurma Purana’s synthesis where devotion and yoga are compatible across Shaiva–Vaishnava frameworks.