Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 43

Śrāddha-Kāla-Nirṇaya: Proper Times, Nakṣatra Fruits, Tīrtha Merit, and Offerings for Ancestral Rites

Devanagari script

संवत्सरं तु गव्येन पयसा पायसेन तु / वार्ध्रोणसस्य मांसेन तृप्तिर्द्वादशवार्षिकी

Transliteration

saṃvatsaraṃ tu gavyena payasā pāyasena tu / vārdhroṇasasya māṃsena tṛptirdvādaśavārṣikī

Translation

以牛乳供养，可得一年之满足；同样，以乳与乳煮甜饭（pāyasa）亦然。然以婆罗诃（Varāha，野猪）之肉供养，则其满足之果据说可延续十二年。

Word by Word

• saṃvatsaram: for a year
• saṃvatsaram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), adversative/emphatic

• gavyena: with cow-product (esp. cow’s milk)
• gavyena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• payasā: with milk
• payasā: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: payas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• pāyasena: with rice-pudding (pāyasa)
• pāyasena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāyasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tu: and/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात), emphatic

• vārdhroṇasasya: of the vārdhroṇasa (a kind of animal)
• vārdhroṇasasya: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārdhroṇasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• māṃsena: with meat
• māṃsena: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• tṛptiḥ: satisfaction, satiation
• tṛptiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛpti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• dvādaśa-vārṣikī: lasting twelve years
• dvādaśa-vārṣikī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या/अव्यय) + vārṣikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: dvādaśa-vārṣikī = ‘twelve-year(-long)’ qualifying tṛptiḥ

Speaker

Sūta (narrating to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya), within a discourse on dāna and food-merit in the Kurma Purana

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Cow (go)
• Milk (payas)
• Pāyasa
• Varāha (boar)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

This verse is primarily dharma-oriented, describing graded results (tṛpti) from specific foods; it does not directly teach Ātman-doctrine, but reflects the Purāṇic idea that disciplined offerings shape one’s inner steadiness and merit.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No explicit yoga technique is taught here; the practice implied is purity and restraint through right offering (dāna/anna), which the Kurma Purana treats as supportive discipline for higher sādhanā, including later yoga-oriented instructions elsewhere in the text.

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

It does not explicitly address Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; it belongs to a dharma section on offerings. In the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis, such dharma acts are presented as compatible supports for devotion and realization across Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava frameworks.