Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28

Divine Abodes on the Mountains — A Sacred Survey of Jambūdvīpa

Kailāsa to Siddha Realms

Devanagari script

तथा पुरशतं विप्राः शतशृङ्गे महाचले / स्फाटिकस्तम्भसंयुक्तं यक्षाणाममितौजसाम्

Transliteration

tathā puraśataṃ viprāḥ śataśṛṅge mahācale / sphāṭikastambhasaṃyuktaṃ yakṣāṇāmamitaujasām

Translation

Cũng vậy, hỡi các brāhmaṇa, trên đại sơn Śataśṛṅga có một trăm thành, trang hoàng bằng những cột pha lê, thuộc về các Yakṣa có uy lực vô lượng.

Word by Word

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (अव्यय) ‘thus/likewise’

• पुर-शतम्: a hundred cities
• पुर-शतम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; द्विगु-समास (शतं पुराणि)

• विप्राः: O brāhmaṇas
• विप्राः: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Plural

• शत-शृङ्गे: on/in Śataśṛṅga (Hundred-peaked)
• शत-शृङ्गे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + शृङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (as mountain-name), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; तत्पुरुष (शतं शृङ्गाणि यस्य/शतशृङ्गः) used as place-name

• महा-अचले: on the great mountain
• महा-अचले: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + अचल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; कर्मधारय (महान् अचलः)

• स्फाटिक-स्तम्भ-संयुक्तम्: joined with crystal pillars
• स्फाटिक-स्तम्भ-संयुक्तम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्फाटिक (प्रातिपदिक) + स्तम्भ (प्रातिपदिक) + संयुक्त (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; adjective to पुरशतम्; तत्पुरुष (स्फाटिकस्तम्भैः संयुक्तम्)

• यक्षाणाम्: of the yakṣas
• यक्षाणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural

• अमित-ओजसाम्: of those of immeasurable strength
• अमित-ओजसाम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमित (प्रातिपदिक) + ओजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural; बहुव्रीहि (अमितम् ओजः येषां ते) qualifying यक्षाणाम्

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) describing Purāṇic geography to the sages (frame narration)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Śataśṛṅga (mountain)
• Yakṣas

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily geographic and descriptive; it does not directly teach ātma-tattva, but it situates the listener in a Purāṇic cosmos where diverse beings (like Yakṣas) exist within an ordered sacred landscape under divine governance.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit yoga practice is taught in this verse; its function is cosmographic—mapping wondrous locales that, in the broader Kurma Purana, often serve as settings for tīrtha-dharma, vrata, and later Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis teachings (including Pāśupata-oriented themes).

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

It does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; indirectly, it supports the Purāṇic worldview in which the same supreme order encompasses all realms—an interpretive backdrop used elsewhere in the Kurma Purana to harmonize Shaiva and Vaishnava devotion.