Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 88

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

Iśvara-Gītā Prelude

Devanagari script

त्रिविधा भावना ब्रह्मन् प्रोच्यमाना निबोध मे / एका मद्विषया तत्र द्वितीया व्यक्तसंश्रया / अन्या च भावना ब्राह्मी विज्ञेया सा गुणातिगा

Transliteration

trividhā bhāvanā brahman procyamānā nibodha me / ekā madviṣayā tatra dvitīyā vyaktasaṃśrayā / anyā ca bhāvanā brāhmī vijñeyā sā guṇātigā

Translation

婆罗门贤者啊，当从我了知所宣说的三种观修（bhāvanā）：其一以我为所缘；其二依于显现界（vyakta）；其三名为梵观（Brahmī bhāvanā），当知其超越三德（guṇa）。

Word by Word

• tri-vidhā: threefold
• tri-vidhā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण; qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + vidhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (‘threefold’), agrees with ‘bhāvanā’

• bhāvanā: contemplation/meditation
• bhāvanā: Karta (कर्ता; subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāvanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• brahman: O Brahmin
• brahman: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन; address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• procyamānā: being taught/being stated
• procyamānā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण; participial qualifier of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vac (धातु) + यमान (शानच्; present passive participle)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with ‘bhāvanā’

• nibodha: understand/learn
• nibodha: Kriyā (क्रिया; main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√budh (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• me: my/of me
• me: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध; ‘of me/from me’ in sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन; enclitic form

• ekā: one (first)
• ekā: Karta (कर्ता; subject—first type)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with implied ‘bhāvanā’

• mat-viṣayā: having me as its object
• mat-viṣayā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mad (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक, genitive base ‘mat’) + viṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मत्-विषया = ‘having me as object’), agrees with ‘ekā (bhāvanā)’

• tatra: there/in that
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण; locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb: ‘there/in that context’)

• dvitīyā: the second
• dvitīyā: Karta (कर्ता; subject—second type)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with implied ‘bhāvanā’

• vyakta-saṃśrayā: based on the manifest
• vyakta-saṃśrayā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyakta (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (व्यक्त-सम्श्रया = ‘resting on the manifest’), agrees with ‘dvitīyā (bhāvanā)’

• anyā: another
• anyā: Karta (कर्ता; subject—another/third type)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with ‘bhāvanā’

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध; connective)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• bhāvanā: contemplation
• bhāvanā: Karta (कर्ता; subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāvanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• brāhmī: pertaining to Brahman
• brāhmī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brāhmī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with ‘bhāvanā’

• vijñeyā: to be known/recognized
• vijñeyā: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (विधेयविशेषण; predicate adjective)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-√jñā (धातु) + तव्यत् (gerundive)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive: ‘to be known’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; agrees with ‘bhāvanā brāhmī’

• sā: that (she/that one)
• sā: Karta (कर्ता; subject ‘that (one)’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• guṇa-atigā: beyond the guṇas
• guṇa-atigā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + atiga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (गुणान् अतिगच्छति/गुणातिगा = ‘transcending the guṇas’), agrees with ‘sā (bhāvanā)’

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) teaching in the Īśvara-gītā discourse

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kūrma
• Brahman (sage)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It distinguishes a highest contemplation (brāhmī bhāvanā) that is guṇātīta—beyond sattva, rajas, and tamas—indicating realization of the Supreme as transcending all material qualities, not limited to the manifest world.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse outlines a graded meditative framework: devotionally focusing on Īśvara (“directed toward Me”), contemplation using the manifest as a support (vyakta-based meditation), and the culminating Brahmic absorption that goes beyond the guṇas—aligned with Kurma Purana’s Yoga-shāstra tone within the Īśvara-gītā.

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

By presenting liberation as guṇātīta Brahmic realization while also validating Īśvara-focused contemplation, the verse supports the Purana’s integrative approach: personal Lord-meditation and non-dual Brahman-realization are not opposed—reflecting the Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis characteristic of the Kurma Purana’s Īśvara-gītā.