Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28

Solar Rays, Planetary Nourishment, Dhruva-Bondage of the Grahas, and the Lunar Cycle

Devanagari script

रथस्त्रिचक्रः सोमस्य कुन्दाभास्तस्य वाजिनः / वामदक्षिणतो युक्ता दश तेन निशाकरः

Transliteration

rathastricakraḥ somasya kundābhāstasya vājinaḥ / vāmadakṣiṇato yuktā daśa tena niśākaraḥ

Translation

苏摩（Soma）之车为三轮，其骏马洁白如茉莉。左右各系十匹；凭此群马，夜之造者——月神（Nisākara）循其轨道而行。

Word by Word

• rathaḥ: chariot
• rathaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• tri-cakraḥ: three-wheeled
• tri-cakraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Dvigu compound 'three-wheeled'

• somasya: of Soma (Moon)
• somasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: soma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; Genitive singular

• kundābhāḥ: white like kunda-flowers
• kundābhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kunda (प्रातिपदिक) + ābhā (आभा प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; Karmadhāraya: 'kunda-like in luster/white as jasmine'

• tasya: of him/its
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Genitive singular

• vājinaḥ: horses
• vājinaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vājin (वाजिन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Nominative plural

• vāma-dakṣiṇataḥ: on the left and right (sides)
• vāma-dakṣiṇataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक) + dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तस् अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (vāma+dakṣiṇa) + तस्-प्रत्यय; अव्यय (adverb) = 'from the left and right sides'

• yuktāḥ: yoked
• yuktāḥ: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (विधेय-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √yuj (युज् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (PPP), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; 'yoked/attached'

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; Nominative plural (numeral)

• tena: thereby/with that
• tena: Karaṇa/Hetu (करण/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Instrumental singular; 'by that/thereby'

• niśākaraḥ: the Moon (night-maker)
• niśākaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niśākara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Nominative singular (epithet of Moon)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator describing cosmic order; traditionally Sūta/authorial voice within the Kurma Purana frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Soma
• Niśākara (Moon)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: it presents a dharmic cosmos where celestial motions are orderly and intelligible; in the Kurma Purana’s broader theology, such order points to an overseeing Īśvara, while the Atman is realized by discerning the stable reality behind changing phenomena.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific practice is prescribed in this verse; however, contemplation of cosmic order (loka-saṅgraha and niyati) is used in Purāṇic teaching as a support for dhyāna—steadying the mind by reflecting on the regulated movements of the devas and grahas.

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

It does not mention Shiva–Vishnu explicitly; its contribution is contextual—Kurma Purana often integrates Shaiva and Vaishnava frames by presenting one coherent cosmic governance (Īśvara-nīti) in which deities like Soma function within the same supreme order.