Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 29

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

Devanagari script

वीथ्याश्रयाणि चरति नक्षत्राणि रविर्यथा / ह्रासवृद्धी च विप्रेन्द्रा ध्रुवाधाराणि सर्वदा

Transliteration

vīthyāśrayāṇi carati nakṣatrāṇi raviryathā / hrāsavṛddhī ca viprendrā dhruvādhārāṇi sarvadā

Translation

正如太阳循其天道运行，诸宿（nakṣatra，月宿）亦各循其轨而行。其盈亏消长，噢婆罗门中最胜者，恒以德鲁瓦（Dhruva，北极星）为不动之基而得支撑。

Word by Word

• vīthi-āśrayāṇi: dependent on the (celestial) path
• vīthi-āśrayāṇi: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vīthi (प्रातिपदिक) + āśraya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (vīthyāḥ āśrayāṇi = 'having/depending on the path')

• carati: move / proceed
• carati: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: car (चर् धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)

• nakṣatrāṇi: the stars/asterisms
• nakṣatrāṇi: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nakṣatra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन)

• raviḥ: the Sun
• raviḥ: Upamāna (उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)

• yathā: as / like
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable; comparative particle (उपमा-अव्यय)

• hrāsa-vṛddhī: decrease and increase
• hrāsa-vṛddhī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hrāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Dual (द्विवचन); इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः

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

• vipra-indrāḥ: O lords among sages
• vipra-indrāḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Vocative (सम्बोधन/8), Plural (बहुवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (viprāṇām indra = 'lord of sages')

• dhruva-ādhārāṇi: fixed supports (i.e., fixed in their bases)
• dhruva-ādhārāṇi: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक) + ādhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Plural (बहुवचन); कर्मधारयः (dhruvāḥ ādhārāḥ = 'fixed supports')

• sarvadā: always
• sarvadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvadā (अव्यय)
• Form: Indeclinable; adverb of time (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण)

Speaker

Sūta (narrator), relaying the cosmological teaching within the Purva-bhaga discourse

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Ravi (Sun)
• Nakshatras
• Dhruva

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By presenting a stable cosmic support (Dhruva) behind changing motions (waxing/waning), the verse points to an underlying steadiness that upholds fluctuations—an image often used in Purāṇic teaching to hint at the unwavering ground of being behind change.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific technique is prescribed in this verse, but it supports a Yogic principle central to the Kurma Purana’s discipline: steadying attention on a fixed support (dhruva-bhāva, unwaveringness) to remain inwardly stable amid external rise and fall.

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

Indirectly: the verse emphasizes a single cosmic order that sustains all movements. In the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such order is upheld by the one Supreme Lord revered through both Shaiva and Vaishnava lenses, even when the immediate imagery is astronomical rather than sectarian.