Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 40

Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle

Devanagari script

बृहस्पतेरथाष्टाश्वः स्यन्दनो हेमनिर्मितः / रथस्तमोमयो ऽष्टाश्वो मन्दस्यायसनिर्मितः / स्वर्भानोर्भास्करारेश्च तथा षड्भिर्हयैर्वृतः

Transliteration

bṛhaspaterathāṣṭāśvaḥ syandano hemanirmitaḥ / rathastamomayo 'ṣṭāśvo mandasyāyasanirmitaḥ / svarbhānorbhāskarāreśca tathā ṣaḍbhirhayairvṛtaḥ

Translation

Cỗ xe của Bṛhaspati được tám ngựa kéo, và xe ấy làm bằng vàng. Manda/Śani, kẻ vận hành chậm, có cỗ xe tám ngựa kéo, làm bằng sắt, mang sắc tướng của bóng tối. Svarbhānu (Rāhu), kẻ thù của Mặt Trời, cũng được sáu ngựa hộ tống.

Word by Word

• bṛhaspateḥ: of Bṛhaspati (Jupiter)
• bṛhaspateḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bṛhaspati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• ratha-aṣṭāśvaḥ: (the) eight-horsed (chariot)
• ratha-aṣṭāśvaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; apposition to syandanaḥ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ratha + aṣṭa + aśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); बहुव्रीहि: 'whose horses are eight' (a chariot with eight horses)

• syandanaḥ: chariot
• syandanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: syandana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• hema-nirmitaḥ: made of gold
• hema-nirmitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of syandanaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hema + nirmita (प्रातिपदिक; nirmita from √mā (मा धातु) with nis-)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) used adjectivally; समास: hema + nirmita = 'made of gold'

• rathaḥ: chariot
• rathaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• tamo-mayaḥ: made of darkness
• tamo-mayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of rathaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tamas + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); समास: tamas + maya = 'consisting of darkness'

• aṣṭāśvaḥ: eight-horsed
• aṣṭāśvaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of rathaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa + aśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); बहुव्रीहि: 'having eight horses'

• mandasya: of Manda (Saturn)
• mandasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• āyasa-nirmitaḥ: made of iron
• āyasa-nirmitaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of rathaḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āyasa + nirmita (प्रातिपदिक; nirmita from √mā (मा धातु) with nis-)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) used adjectivally; समास: āyasa + nirmita = 'made of iron'

• svarbhānoḥ: of Svarbhānu (Rāhu)
• svarbhānoḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarbhānu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhāskara-areḥ: of the Sun's enemy
• bhāskara-areḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/appositional genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara + ari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन); समास: bhāskara + ari = 'enemy of the Sun' (i.e., Rāhu)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/linker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• tathā: likewise/so
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (प्रकारवाचक अव्यय)

• ṣaḍbhiḥ: by six
• ṣaḍbhiḥ: Karana (करण/instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: (Numeral) Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• hayaiḥ: with horses
• hayaiḥ: Karana (करण/instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• vṛtaḥ: surrounded
• vṛtaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; predicate—'is surrounded')
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛ (वृञ् धातु)
• Form: Past passive participle (कृत/क्त), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

Speaker

Sūta (traditional Purāṇic narrator) describing cosmology to the sages

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhaspati (Jupiter)
• Manda/Śani (Saturn)
• Svarbhānu (Rāhu)
• Bhāskara (Sun)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by mapping the ordered movements and forms of the grahas, the verse supports the Purāṇic view that the cosmos functions under a higher, unifying governance—pointing the contemplative mind from changing planetary forms to the changeless Self that witnesses all change.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit technique is taught in this verse, but such cosmological catalogues traditionally serve dhyāna and upāsanā: the practitioner steadies attention on cosmic order (ṛta/dharma), using the grahas’ forms as supports for concentration before turning inward toward īśvara-bhakti and self-knowledge.

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

The verse is cosmological rather than sectarian, reflecting the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance: planetary deities and cosmic forces operate within one sacred order upheld by the Supreme—reconciling Shaiva and Vaishnava devotion within a single dharmic cosmos.