Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 20

Daily Duties of Brāhmaṇas: Snāna, Sandhyā, Sūrya-hṛdaya, Japa, Tarpaṇa, and the Pañca-mahāyajñas

Devanagari script

वर्जयित्वा निन्दितानि गृहीत्वैकं यथोदितम् / परिहृत्य दिनं पापं भक्षयेद् वै विधानवित्

Transliteration

varjayitvā ninditāni gṛhītvaikaṃ yathoditam / parihṛtya dinaṃ pāpaṃ bhakṣayed vai vidhānavit

Translation

Tránh xa những điều bị chê trách, hãy chỉ nhận lấy một thứ được cho phép như đã dạy. Và gác lại ngày tội lỗi, người am tường nghi pháp hãy thọ thực đúng theo quy củ.

Word by Word

• वर्जयित्वा: having avoided
• वर्जयित्वा: Purvakala-Kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वर्ज् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘वर्जयित्वा’ = having avoided

• निन्दितानि: the censured (ones)
• निन्दितानि: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निन्दित (प्रातिपदिक; √निन्द् + क्त)
• Form: क्त-कृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन; ‘निन्दितानि (द्रव्याणि)’

• गृहीत्वा: having taken
• गृहीत्वा: Purvakala-Kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु) + त्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘गृहीत्वा’ = having taken

• एकम्: one (single)
• एकम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; ‘एकं (दन्तकाष्ठम्)’

• यथा-उदितम्: as prescribed
• यथा-उदितम्: Kriya-Visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + उदित (प्रातिपदिक; उद्-इ/वद्? + क्त; ‘said’)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; ‘यथोदितम्’ = as stated

• परिहृत्य: having discarded/avoided
• परिहृत्य: Purvakala-Kriya (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-हृ (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘परिहृत्य’ = having removed/avoided

• दिनम्: by day / during the day
• दिनम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• पापम्: sin, impurity
• पापम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• भक्षयेत्: should chew/eat
• भक्षयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• विधानवित्: one who knows the rule
• विधानवित्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधान-वित् (प्रातिपदिक; विधान + विद्/वित् ‘knower’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (विधानं वेत्ति इति)

Speaker

Sūta (narrating Vyāsa’s teaching to the sages) — dharma-instruction context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Sūta
• Dharma (as ordinance)
• Vidhāna (scriptural injunction)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it emphasizes āhāra-śuddhi (purity and restraint in intake) as a dharmic foundation for inner clarity, which supports contemplative knowledge leading toward Self-realization.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

A preparatory yogic discipline: regulated eating according to vidhi, avoiding prohibited items and inauspicious occasions—aligned with niyama (self-discipline) that stabilizes the mind for mantra, japa, and meditation emphasized in Kurma Purana’s sādhanā streams.

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

By focusing on shared dharma and yogic restraint rather than sectarian difference: the Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis is expressed through common standards of purity and disciplined conduct that serve devotion to the one Supreme.