Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 2

Vānaprastha-Dharma: Forest Discipline, Vaikhānasa Austerities, and Śiva-Āśrama as the Liberative Refuge

Devanagari script

निक्षिप्य भार्यां पुत्रेषु गच्छेद् वनमथापि वा / दृष्ट्वापत्यस्य चापत्यं जर्जरीकृतविग्रहः

Transliteration

nikṣipya bhāryāṃ putreṣu gacched vanamathāpi vā / dṛṣṭvāpatyasya cāpatyaṃ jarjarīkṛtavigrahaḥ

Translation

将妻子托付给诸子之后，他也应当前往林野。待身躯衰老破败之时，若见到自己子女之子女（孙辈），便应转向林居之行（vānaprastha），作为后续的法度阶段。

Word by Word

• nikṣipya: having entrusted/placed
• nikṣipya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-kṣip (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), from ni-√kṣip

• bhāryām: wife
• bhāryām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• putreṣu: among/on the sons
• putreṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: Optative/विधिलिङ्, Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• vanam: to the forest
• vanam: Karma (कर्म/गन्तव्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (अनन्तर/अथ)

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), particle (अपि = also/even)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), disjunctive particle (विकल्प)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त), from √dṛś

• apatyasya: of the child/offspring
• apatyasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apatya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), conjunction (समुच्चय)

• apatyam: offspring (grandchild)
• apatyam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apatya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• jarjarī-kṛta-vigrahaḥ: whose body is made decrepit
• jarjarī-kṛta-vigrahaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jarjarī (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛ (धातु) + vigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); tatpuruṣa: jarjarīkṛtaḥ vigrahaḥ yasya (kṛdanta-participle as first member); past passive participle (क्त) of √kṛ with upapada jarjarī

Speaker

Traditional narrator in the Purva-bhāga teaching Varnāśrama-dharma (didactic passage within the Kurma Purana’s discourse)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Vānaprastha
• Gṛhastha
• Varnāśrama-dharma
• Putra (sons)
• Bhāryā (wife)

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by urging withdrawal from household identity after fulfilling duties, it points to loosening ego-based roles so one can pursue inner realization of the Self beyond family and social station.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse emphasizes the prerequisite of vairāgya (dispassion) and life-stage discipline—entering vānaprastha—supporting later sādhana such as japa, austerity, and contemplative practice found elsewhere in the Kurma Purana’s yoga-oriented teachings.

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

It does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; its contribution to the Kurma Purana’s synthesis is structural—establishing dharma-based renunciation as a shared foundation for devotion and yoga, whether framed in Śaiva (Pāśupata) or Vaiṣṇava terms.