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Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 27

Invocation, Purāṇa Lakṣaṇas, Kurma at the Samudra-manthana, and Indradyumna’s Liberation Teaching

Iśvara-Gītā Prelude

Devanagari script

पुरामृतार्थं दैतेयदानवैः सह देवताः / मन्थानं मन्दरं कृत्वा ममन्थुः क्षीरसागरम्

Transliteration

purāmṛtārthaṃ daiteyadānavaiḥ saha devatāḥ / manthānaṃ mandaraṃ kṛtvā mamanthuḥ kṣīrasāgaram

Translation

久远以前，为求不死甘露阿姆利塔，诸天与代提耶、达那婆同心，将曼陀罗山作搅拌之杵，搅动乳海。

Word by Word
पुराformerly
पुरा:
Kala (काल/Time)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootपुरा (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
Formकालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)
अमृत-अर्थम्for (obtaining) nectar
अमृत-अर्थम्:
Prayojana (प्रयोजन/Purpose)
TypeNoun
Rootअमृत (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थक (for the sake of)
दैतेय-दानवैःwith the Daityas and Dānavas
दैतेय-दानवैः:
Sahakaraka (सह/Association)
TypeNoun
Rootदैतेय (प्रातिपदिक) + दानव (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्व/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व; ‘with Daityas and Dānavas’
सहtogether with
सह:
Sahakaraka (सह/Association)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootसह (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
Formसंबन्ध/सहायार्थक-अव्यय (preposition-like: ‘with’)
देवताःthe gods
देवताः:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootदेवता (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन
मन्थानम्the churning-rod
मन्थानम्:
Karma (कर्म/Object)
TypeNoun
Rootमन्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
मन्दरम्Mandara (mountain)
मन्दरम्:
Karma (कर्म/Object)
TypeNoun
Rootमन्दर (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
कृत्वाhaving made (as)
कृत्वा:
Purvakala (पूर्वकाल/Anterior action)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootकृ (धातु) → कृत्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय, अव्ययीभाव-रूप)
Formक्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): ‘having made’
ममन्थुःthey churned
ममन्थुः:
Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
TypeVerb
Rootमन्थ् (धातु)
Formलिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद
क्षीर-सागरम्the ocean of milk
क्षीर-सागरम्:
Karma (कर्म/Object)
TypeNoun
Rootक्षीर (प्रातिपदिक) + सागर (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन
Speaker

Sūta (Purāṇic narrator) recounting the cosmic history to the sages

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities
D
Devatāḥ (gods)
D
Daityas
D
Dānavas
M
Mandara Mountain
K
Kṣīrasāgara (Ocean of Milk)
A
Amṛta (nectar of immortality)

FAQs

Indirectly: the quest for amṛta symbolizes the soul’s longing for deathlessness, which the Kurma Purana later frames as liberation through knowledge and devotion to Īśvara—beyond mere physical immortality.

This verse itself is narrative, but it sets up the Kurma Purana’s yogic reading: disciplined effort (tapas), steadiness (dhṛti), and cooperation under divine order—later articulated as Pāśupata-oriented devotion, restraint, and contemplative practice in the text’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis.

By presenting a cosmic act that leads to Kurma’s manifestation and later divine interventions, it supports the Purana’s integrative theology: the same supreme divine agency works through different forms (including Vishnu/Kurma and the wider Īśvara principle honored in Shaiva discourse).

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