Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 76

Devadāru (Dāruvana) Forest: The Delusion of Ritual Pride, the Liṅga Crisis, and the Teaching of Jñāna–Pāśupata Yoga

Devanagari script

ऋतस्य गर्भो भगवानापो मायातनुः प्रभुः / स्तूयते विविधैर्मन्त्रैर्ब्राह्मणैर्धर्ममोक्षिभिः

Transliteration

ṛtasya garbho bhagavānāpo māyātanuḥ prabhuḥ / stūyate vividhairmantrairbrāhmaṇairdharmamokṣibhiḥ

Translation

Đấng Thế Tôn—thai tạng của Ṛta (trật tự vũ trụ), chính là các Thủy (Āpaḥ), bậc Chúa Tể có thân là Māyā—được các Bà-la-môn hướng về Dharma và giải thoát ca ngợi bằng vô số thần chú Veda.

Word by Word

• ṛtasya: of ṛta (cosmic order/truth)
• ṛtasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• garbhaḥ: womb; source
• garbhaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• bhagavān: the Blessed Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; honorific epithet

• āpaḥ: the waters
• āpaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ap (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन); pluralia tantum

• māyā-tanuḥ: whose body is māyā
• māyā-tanuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक) + tanu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st), Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (māyāyāḥ tanuḥ)

• prabhuḥ: the Lord; master
• prabhuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• stūyate: is praised
• stūyate: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: stu (धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Passive voice (कर्मणि), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• vividhaiḥ: by various
• vividhaiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vividha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural; agrees with mantraiḥ

• mantraiḥ: by mantras
• mantraiḥ: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• brāhmaṇaiḥ: by Brahmins
• brāhmaṇaiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• dharma-mokṣibhiḥ: by those who grant/release (through) dharma
• dharma-mokṣibhiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + mokṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dharmasya mokṣinaḥ) used adjectivally qualifying brāhmaṇaiḥ

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice describing the Lord’s praised nature within the chapter’s devotional-theological context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Bhagavan (Supreme Lord)
• Āpaḥ (Divine Waters)
• Ṛta (Cosmic Order)
• Brāhmaṇas

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By calling the Lord the “womb of Ṛta” and identifying Him with Āpaḥ, the verse presents the Supreme as the unseen source of cosmic order and the manifest ground of creation—one reality appearing through Māyā while remaining sovereign.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes mantra-centered upāsanā: disciplined recitation and praise aligned with Dharma and oriented toward Mokṣa. In Kurma Purana’s broader soteriology, such mantra-praise supports purification (śuddhi) and steadiness conducive to yoga and liberating knowledge.

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

Though Vishnu/Kūrma is the immediate frame of the Purāṇa, the verse’s theology—one Lord as source of Ṛta and manifesting through Māyā—fits the Kurma Purana’s synthetic stance where the Supreme (Īśvara) is praised in Vedic terms beyond sectarian division, harmonizing Shaiva and Vaishnava devotion.