Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 49

Sūrya-vaṃśa Genealogy and the Supremacy of Tapas: Gāyatrī-Japa, Rudra-Darśana, and Śatarudrīya Upadeśa

Devanagari script

संवत्सरशतं साग्रं तपोनिर्धूतकल्मषः / जजाप मनसा देवीं सावित्ररिं वेदमातरम्

Transliteration

saṃvatsaraśataṃ sāgraṃ taponirdhūtakalmaṣaḥ / jajāpa manasā devīṃ sāvitrariṃ vedamātaram

Translation

他以苦行涤除诸垢，复以心中持诵（japa）萨维特丽女神——吠陀之母——整整百年，且更有余。

Word by Word

• संवत्सरशतम्: a hundred years
• संवत्सरशतम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संवत्सर + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (संवत्सराणां शतम्)

• साग्रम्: with an excess; more than (a full hundred)
• साग्रम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः (स-अग्रम् = अधिकम्/समेतम्)

• तपो-निर्धूत-कल्मषः: one whose sin was washed away by austerity
• तपो-निर्धूत-कल्मषः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) + निर्धूत (कृदन्त, धातु √धू ‘धुनोति’ + नि, क्त) + कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (यस्य कल्मषं तपसा निर्धूतम् सः)

• जजाप: he recited
• जजाप: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मनसा: with the mind; mentally
• मनसा: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

• देवीम्: the goddess
• देवीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• सावित्रीम्: Sāvitrī
• सावित्रीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सावित्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; देवीम् इति समानाधिकरण-विशेषणम्

• वेदमातरम्: mother of the Vedas
• वेदमातरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद + मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वेदस्य माता)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) recounting the Purāṇic episode within the Kurma Purana’s Purva-bhāga narrative frame

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Sāvitrī
• Veda-mātā (Mother of the Vedas)
• Tapas
• Mānasa-japa (mental recitation)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By emphasizing mānasa-japa and tapas that remove kalmaṣa (inner impurity), the verse implies that realization depends on inner purification—when obscurations are burned away, the Self’s clarity becomes evident.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It highlights tapas (austerity as disciplined heat/effort) and mānasa-japa (silent mental repetition) of Sāvitrī/Gāyatrī, a classic Purāṇic sādhanā for citta-śuddhi (purification of mind) aligned with Yoga-śāstra discipline.

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

Though Sāvitrī is invoked here, the method—tapasyā and mantra-japa for purification—fits the shared Shaiva-Vaishnava soteriology of the Kurma Purana, where devotion and yogic discipline converge toward one supreme reality.