Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 57

Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide

Devanagari script

फलदानां तु वृक्षाणां छेदने जप्यमृक्शतम् / गुल्मवल्लीलतानां तु पुष्पितानां च वीरुधाम्

Transliteration

phaladānāṃ tu vṛkṣāṇāṃ chedane japyamṛkśatam / gulmavallīlatānāṃ tu puṣpitānāṃ ca vīrudhām

Translation

Nếu chặt cây cho quả, hãy chuộc tội bằng cách tụng một trăm câu Ṛk. Cũng vậy, khi chặt các bụi cây, dây leo, cây leo và các loài thảo mộc đang trổ hoa, cũng được dạy tụng như thế để sám hối.

Word by Word

• phaladānām: of fruit-giving
• phaladānām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक) + dā (धातु) → phaladā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (उपपद-तत्पुरुष: ‘fruit-giving’), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन); qualifying vṛkṣāṇām

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (अन्वय/विरोध सूचक)

• vṛkṣāṇām: of trees
• vṛkṣāṇām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• chedane: in cutting down
• chedane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: chedana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• japya: to be recited
• japya: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jap (धातु) + ya (यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Gerundive (ण्‍यत्/यत्), ‘to be recited’

• ṛkśatam: a hundred ṛk-verses
• ṛkśatam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛc (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘a hundred (verses) of ṛk’), Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular (एकवचन)

• gulma-vallī-latānām: of shrubs, creepers, and vines
• gulma-vallī-latānām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gulma (प्रातिपदिक) + vallī (प्रातिपदिक) + latā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Dvandva (समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tu: and/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (अन्वय/विरोध सूचक)

• puṣpitānām: of flowering (ones)
• puṣpitānām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṣpita (प्रातिपदिक; √puṣp + kta)
• Form: Past participle (क्त), used adjectivally; Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

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

• vīrudhām: of herbs/creepers (plants)
• vīrudhām: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vīrudh (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) conveying the Kurma Purana’s dharma-teaching on prāyaścitta

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Ṛk (Rigvedic) mantras
• vṛkṣa (trees)
• vīrudh (plants/creepers)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it frames dharma as restraint and reverence for life-supporting beings; such ethical purification supports inner clarity (śuddhi) that is traditionally held to be necessary for realizing the Atman.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

Mantra-japa (recitation) is prescribed as prāyaścitta. In the broader Kurma Purana ethos, disciplined japa functions as a purifying practice that steadies the mind and aligns action with dharma—an ethical base compatible with Pāśupata-oriented sādhana.

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

It does not explicitly mention Shiva–Vishnu unity; instead it presents a shared dharmic framework—Vedic mantra-japa and ahiṃsā—common to both Shaiva and Vaishnava practice in the Kurma Purana’s synthetic religious landscape.