Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 36

Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction

Devanagari script

अन्याश्च शक्तयो मुख्यास्तस्य देवस्य निर्मिताः / ज्ञानशक्तिः क्रियाशक्तिः प्राणशक्तिरिति त्रयम्

Transliteration

anyāśca śaktayo mukhyāstasya devasya nirmitāḥ / jñānaśaktiḥ kriyāśaktiḥ prāṇaśaktiriti trayam

Translation

Những năng lực chủ yếu khác cũng hiển lộ từ Đấng Chúa ấy: năng lực của tri thức, năng lực của hành động, và năng lực của hơi thở sinh mệnh (prāṇa)—ba điều ấy.

Word by Word

• anyāḥ: other
• anyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (feminine/स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana (plural/बहुवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction/समुच्चय-निपात)

• śaktayaḥ: powers, energies
• śaktayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana

• mukhyāḥ: principal, chief
• mukhyāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; viśeṣaṇa of śaktayaḥ (qualifier/विशेषण)

• tasya: of him/that
• tasya: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध/possessive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (masculine/पुंलिङ्ग), Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (Genitive/षष्ठी), Ekavacana (singular/एकवचन)

• devasya: of the god
• devasya: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध/possessive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī, Ekavacana

• nirmitāḥ: created, fashioned
• nirmitāḥ: Karmaṇi-bhāva (कर्मणि/PPP predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-√mā (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kta-pratyaya past passive participle (क्त-प्रत्यय/भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त), Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Bahuvacana; agrees with śaktayaḥ

• jñāna-śaktiḥ: power of knowledge
• jñāna-śaktiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; item in enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: jñānasya śaktiḥ), Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• kriyā-śaktiḥ: power of action
• kriyā-śaktiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; item in enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक) + śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: kriyāyāḥ śaktiḥ), Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• prāṇa-śaktiḥ: vital power
• prāṇa-śaktiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; item in enumeration)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: prāṇasya śaktiḥ), Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle (इति-निपात) marking end of enumeration

• trayam: a triad; three
• trayam: Viśeṣya/Pratijñā (प्रातिपदिक-विशेष्य/predicate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter/नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Prathamā/Accusative (प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Ekavacana; here predicate nominative: ‘(they are) three’

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Ishvara (the Supreme Deity)
• Jñāna-śakti
• Kriyā-śakti
• Prāṇa-śakti

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It presents the Lord (Ishvara) as the source from whom primary śaktis manifest—knowledge, action, and prāṇa—indicating a supreme consciousness that expresses itself as cognition, agency, and life-force without losing transcendence.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

By naming jñāna, kriyā, and prāṇa as key śaktis, the verse supports an integrated sādhanā: contemplative insight (jñāna), disciplined practice and duty (kriyā), and regulation of the vital currents (prāṇa)—a framework compatible with Pāśupata-oriented yoga in the Kurma Purana.

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

Rather than sectarian separation, it speaks in the language of Ishvara and śakti: the one Supreme Lord manifests universal powers. This idiom is characteristic of the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, where the same ultimate Ishvara is taught through multiple devotional-theological lenses.