Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 143

Prākṛta-pralaya, Pratisarga Doctrine, and the Ishvara-Samanvaya of Yoga and Devotion

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मणा कथितं पूर्वं सनकाय च धीमते / सनत्कुमाराय तथा सर्वपापप्रणाशनम्

Transliteration

brahmaṇā kathitaṃ pūrvaṃ sanakāya ca dhīmate / sanatkumārāya tathā sarvapāpapraṇāśanam

Translation

یہ اُپدیش پہلے برہما نے دانا سَنَک کو بتایا تھا، اور اسی طرح سَنَتکُمار کو بھی—یہ سب گناہوں کو مٹانے والا ہے۔

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मणा: by Brahmā / by Brahman
• ब्रह्मणा: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन (singular)

• कथितम्: told / narrated
• कथितम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘said/told’

• पूर्वम्: formerly / earlier
• पूर्वम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• सनकाय: to Sanaka
• सनकाय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सनक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• धीमते: to the wise one
• धीमते: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धीमत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन; विशेषण (epithet)

• सनत्कुमाराय: to Sanatkumāra
• सनत्कुमाराय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सनत्कुमार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: कर्मधारय (सनत् + कुमार); पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन

• तथा: likewise / also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• सर्वपापप्रणाशनम्: the destroyer of all sins / total sin-destruction (teaching)
• सर्वपापप्रणाशनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + पाप + प्रणाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (पापस्य प्रणाशनम्; सर्व-उपपदपूर्वक); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator continuing the Kurma Purana dialogue frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Brahma
• Sanaka
• Sanatkumara

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it stresses that liberating knowledge is preserved through an authoritative lineage (Brahmā → Sanaka/Sanatkumāra), implying that true insight into the Self is received via śāstra and realized teaching rather than mere opinion.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse itself highlights transmission, not a technique; in the Kurma Purana’s yogic frame, such ‘sarva-pāpa-praṇāśana’ instruction typically supports disciplined practice (yama-niyama, devotion, and contemplative absorption) taught by realized sages in a paramparā.

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

It does so implicitly: by grounding the teaching in Brahmā and the Sanaka sages, the Purana presents a shared, pan-sectarian authority for dharma and yoga—consistent with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis rather than a sectarian divide.