Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 40

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

Iśvara-Gītā Prelude

Devanagari script

नालं देवा न पितरो मानवा वसवो ऽपि च / मायामेतां समुत्तर्तुं ये चान्ये भुवि देहिनः

Transliteration

nālaṃ devā na pitaro mānavā vasavo 'pi ca / māyāmetāṃ samuttartuṃ ye cānye bhuvi dehinaḥ

Translation

诸天不能，祖灵（Pitṛ）不能，人类不能，乃至八位婆苏（Vasu）亦不能超越此幻力（Māyā）；凡居于大地的一切有身众生，亦复如是。

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• अलम्: able, sufficient
• अलम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: alam (अव्यय)
• Form: पर्याप्ति/समर्थ्यवाचक-अव्यय (indeclinable of sufficiency/ability)

• देवाः: gods
• देवाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), बहुवचन (pl.)

• न: nor
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• पितरः: manes, ancestors
• पितरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), बहुवचन (pl.)

• मानवाः: humans
• मानवाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), बहुवचन (pl.)

• वसवः: the Vasus
• वसवः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), बहुवचन (pl.)

• अपि: even, also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कार (particle: also/even)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• मायाम्: illusion, māyā
• मायाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Acc.), एकवचन (sg.)

• एताम्: this
• एताम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Acc.), एकवचन (sg.); सर्वनाम

• समुत्तर्तुम्: to cross over
• समुत्तर्तुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/infinitive of purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-उत्-√तॄ (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्यय (infinitive), ‘to cross over completely’

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), बहुवचन (pl.); सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), बहुवचन (pl.)

• भुवि: on earth
• भुवि: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Loc.), एकवचन (sg.); (भू ‘earth’ का लोकेटिव)

• देहिनः: embodied beings
• देहिनः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dehin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nom.), बहुवचन (pl.)

Speaker

Narratorial/Scriptural voice (Purana narrator in the opening discourse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhayanaka

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Pitrs
• Manavas
• Vasus
• Maya

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By stating that even gods and exalted beings cannot cross Māyā, the verse implies that liberation is not achieved by status or power but by realizing the reality beyond Māyā—Atman/Brahman—through true knowledge and divine grace.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

This verse points to the need for a liberating discipline that transcends ordinary merit—classically, Yoga grounded in viveka (discernment) and īśvara-śaraṇāgati (surrender to the Lord). In the Kurma Purana’s trajectory, such teaching supports Pashupata-oriented practice: inner purification, detachment, and contemplation of the Lord beyond Māyā.

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

While not naming Shiva or Vishnu directly, it presents Māyā as a cosmic power that only the Supreme Lord can transcend and help others transcend—consistent with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian synthesis where the highest Ishvara is affirmed in Shaiva-Vaishnava unity.