Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 73

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

Devanagari script

आदिसर्गस्ततः पश्चादण्डावरणसप्तकम् / हिरण्यगर्भसर्गश्च कीर्तितो मुनिपुङ्गवाः

Transliteration

ādisargastataḥ paścādaṇḍāvaraṇasaptakam / hiraṇyagarbhasargaśca kīrtito munipuṅgavāḥ

Translation

پھر آدی سَرگ کا بیان ہوا؛ اس کے بعد برہمانڈ کے سات پردوں کی توضیح کی گئی؛ اور اے برگزیدہ رشیو، ہِرَنیہ گربھ سَرگ بھی بیان کیا گیا۔

Word by Word

• आदि-सर्गः: the primordial creation
• आदि-सर्गः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदि (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (आदिः यस्य/आदौ इति सर्गः)

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः: अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• पश्चात्: afterwards
• पश्चात्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पश्चात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• अण्ड-आवरण-सप्तकम्: the seven coverings of the cosmic egg
• अण्ड-आवरण-सप्तकम्: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + आवरण (प्रातिपदिक) + सप्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; समासः: तत्पुरुष (अण्डस्य आवरणं, तस्य सप्तकम्)

• हिरण्यगर्भ-सर्गः: the creation of Hiraṇyagarbha
• हिरण्यगर्भ-सर्गः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिरण्यगर्भ (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (हिरण्यगर्भस्य सर्गः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• कीर्तितः: has been described/mentioned
• कीर्तितः: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कीर्त् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त/PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; धातुः: कीर्त् (to praise/mention)

• मुनि-पुङ्गवाः: O best of sages
• मुनि-पुङ्गवाः: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + पुङ्गव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (मुनिषु पुङ्गवाः)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) addressing the sages (munis) in the Purāṇic dialogue-frame

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Hiraṇyagarbha
• Brahmāṇḍa
• Sarga (creation)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by listing stages of creation (sarga) and cosmic structure, it implies a transcendent principle beyond the created order—Atman/Iśvara as the ground from which Hiraṇyagarbha and the brahmāṇḍa arise.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is taught in this verse; it functions as a cosmological catalogue. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis, such cosmology supports contemplative discernment (viveka) by placing the yogin’s practice within a mapped cosmic order.

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

Not explicitly. However, the Purana’s overall method—describing creation through shared Purāṇic categories like Hiraṇyagarbha and brahmāṇḍa—supports a non-sectarian framework in which Śiva and Viṣṇu are understood as harmonized expressions of the one supreme reality.