Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 13

Mādhayameśvara-māhātmya — Vyāsa at Mandākinī and the Pāśupata Vision

Devanagari script

यः स साक्षान्महादेवं सर्वभावेन शङ्करम् / प्रपन्नः परया भक्त्या यस्य तज्ज्ञानमैश्वरम्

Transliteration

yaḥ sa sākṣānmahādevaṃ sarvabhāvena śaṅkaram / prapannaḥ parayā bhaktyā yasya tajjñānamaiśvaram

Translation

Ai trực tiếp quy y Đại Thần Mahādeva, Śaṅkara, bằng trọn vẹn thân tâm và lòng sùng kính tối thượng, thì đối với người ấy, chính sự quy phục và bhakti ấy trở thành trí tuệ tối thắng, tri kiến chứng ngộ Thượng Đế (aiśvarya-jñāna).

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (relative pronoun)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Correlative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (correlative pronoun)

• sākṣāt: directly
• sākṣāt: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• mahādevam: Mahādeva
• mahādevam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास

• sarvabhāvena: with whole being, entirely
• sarvabhāvena: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument—manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva + bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सर्वः भावः यस्य/सर्वभावः) प्रयोगे—'with entire being'

• śaṅkaram: Śaṅkara
• śaṅkaram: Karma (कर्म/Apposition to mahādevam)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṅkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• prapannaḥ: having surrendered, having taken refuge
• prapannaḥ: Karta (कर्ता—describing subject yaḥ/saḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra + pad (धातु) → prapanna (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्यय (पन्न)

• parayā: supreme, highest
• parayā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of bhaktyā)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (भक्त्या सह)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument—means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣya (विशेष्य—points to following noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अन्वयतः—प्रथमा (predicate)

• jñānam: knowledge
• jñānam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject—'that knowledge is...')
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• aiśvaram: lordly, divine, pertaining to Īśvara
• aiśvaram: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of jñānam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aiśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (ज्ञानस्य)

Speaker

Narrator/teacher voice within the Purāṇic discourse (Śaiva-oriented instruction in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Mahadeva
• Shankara
• Ishvara

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It implies that direct refuge in Īśvara (here, Mahādeva) with one’s entire being culminates in aiśvarya-jñāna—God-realizing knowledge—through which the Self is understood in relation to the Supreme Lord rather than as mere intellectual speculation.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes prapatti (complete surrender) and parā-bhakti (supreme devotion) as an inner discipline—aligned with Purāṇic Pāśupata-oriented spirituality—where single-pointed refuge in Śaṅkara becomes the means to transformative realization.

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

By presenting God-realizing knowledge as arising from wholehearted devotion to Mahādeva within the Kurma Purana’s broader theology, it supports the text’s synthetic stance: devotion to the Supreme (whether named Śiva or Viṣṇu) leads to the same Īśvara-centered realization.