Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 99

Kapālamocana: The Cutting of Brahmā’s Fifth Head, Śiva’s Kāpālika Vow, and Purification in Vārāṇasī

Devanagari script

तमभ्यधावद् भगवान् हरिर्नारायणः स्वयम् / अथास्थायापरं रूपं नृत्यदर्शनलालसः

Transliteration

tamabhyadhāvad bhagavān harirnārāyaṇaḥ svayam / athāsthāyāparaṃ rūpaṃ nṛtyadarśanalālasaḥ

Translation

Bấy giờ, Đức Thế Tôn Hari—chính Nārāyaṇa—chạy đến gần Ngài. Rồi Người khoác lấy một hình tướng khác, lòng khát khao được chiêm ngưỡng vũ điệu.

Word by Word

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• abhyadhāvat: ran towards
• abhyadhāvat: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-dhāv (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; धातु: धाव् (to run) उपसर्ग: अभि

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hariḥ: Hari
• hariḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• nārāyaṇaḥ: Nārāyaṇa
• nārāyaṇaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेष्य-समनाधिकरण (apposition to hariḥ)

• svayam: himself
• svayam: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: svayam (अव्यय)
• Form: स्वयम्-शब्दः, अव्यय (emphatic: oneself)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्धः)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then)

• āsthāya: having assumed
• āsthāya: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), धातु: स्था, उपसर्ग: आ; ‘having assumed/taken’

• aparam: another
• aparam: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘rūpam’)

• rūpam: form
• rūpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nṛtya-darśana-lālasaḥ: eager to see the dance
• nṛtya-darśana-lālasaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nṛtya + darśana + lālasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (नृत्यस्य दर्शनं तस्मिन् लालसः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of hariḥ)

Speaker

Purana narrator (Suta/Vyasa tradition), describing Bhagavan Narayana’s action within the ongoing narrative

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shringara

Characters & Entities

• Hari
• Narayana
• Bhagavan

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By showing Bhagavān freely “assuming another form,” the verse implies the Supreme is not limited by a single body-form; form is a chosen manifestation, while the underlying reality remains sovereign and unconfined.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse centers on darśana (sacred beholding): devotion matures through attentive vision of the Lord’s līlā. In Kurma Purana’s broader spiritual frame, such focused reverent attention supports steadiness of mind (ekāgratā), a foundation for yogic discipline.

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

Though explicitly naming Hari-Nārāyaṇa, the motif of the Lord’s transformative līlā aligns with the Purana’s synthetic theology: the one Supreme appears in diverse modes for devotees—supporting a non-sectarian, convergent Shaiva–Vaishnava reading.