Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 44

Prākṛta Sṛṣṭi and Pralaya: From Pradhāna to Brahmāṇḍa; Trimūrti Samanvaya

Devanagari script

भूतादिर्महता तद्वदव्यक्तेनावृतो महान् / एते लोका महात्मनः सर्वतत्त्वाभिमानिनः

Transliteration

bhūtādirmahatā tadvadavyaktenāvṛto mahān / ete lokā mahātmanaḥ sarvatattvābhimāninaḥ

Translation

噢，大心者：以诸元素（bhūta）为始的原理为“大智”（Mahat）所统摄；而Mahat又为“不显”（Avyakta）所覆蔽。诸世界，噢宏伟者，遍满对一切“真理要素”（tattva，宇宙原理）的认同与执著。

Word by Word

• bhūta-ādiḥ: the beginning/source of beings
• bhūta-ādiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā-vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular); ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa: bhūtānām ādiḥ

• mahatā: by the great (principle)
• mahatā: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/napuṃsakaliṅga (Masc/Neut), Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental, 3rd), Ekavacana (Singular)

• tadvat: likewise
• tadvat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Adverbial relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-निपात)
• Form: Avyaya; upamā-arthaka (adverbial: ‘likewise/so’)

• avyaktena: by the unmanifest (principle)
• avyaktena: Karaṇa (करण/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-vyakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (Neuter), Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental, 3rd), Ekavacana (Singular)

• āvṛtaḥ: covered/enveloped
• āvṛtaḥ: Karta-anuguṇa (कर्तृअनुगुण/Predicate adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√vṛ (वृञ्/धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Kta-participle (past passive participle); Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Ekavacana; karmaṇi-prayoga sense ‘covered’

• mahān: the Great (Mahat)
• mahān: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• ete: these
• ete: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Determiner)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• lokāḥ: worlds/realms
• lokāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• mahātmanaḥ: great-souled
• mahātmanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā-ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural); karmadhāraya: mahān ātmā yeṣām

• sarva-tattva-abhimāninaḥ: identifying with all principles (tattvas)
• sarva-tattva-abhimāninaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + tattva + abhimānin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā (Nom, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural); tatpuruṣa: sarveṣu tattveṣu abhimānaḥ yeṣām

Speaker

Narrator/Sage teaching cosmology (Purāṇic-Sāṃkhya exposition within the Kurma Purana’s discourse framework)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Mahat
• Avyakta
• Bhūtas
• Tattvas
• Lokas

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

By showing that worlds and experiences are layered within tattvas (elements → Mahat → Avyakta), the verse implies that the Self is distinct from these coverings; realization requires seeing all such categories as non-Self (ātma-viveka).

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

It supports tattva-viveka (discernment of principles) used in meditative withdrawal: one observes identification (abhimāna) with body, mind (Mahat), and causal nature (Avyakta), then releases it—an inner discipline aligned with Purāṇic Yoga and later Pāśupata-oriented renunciation of limited identities.

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

Indirectly, through shared metaphysical language: both Shaiva and Vaishnava teachings in the Kurma Purana employ the same tattva-framework, pointing beyond sectarian forms to the one transcendent reality that is prior to Mahat and Avyakta.