Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 21

Prākṛta-pralaya, Pratisarga Doctrine, and the Ishvara-Samanvaya of Yoga and Devotion

Devanagari script

प्रधानपुंसोरजयोरेष संहार ईरितः / महेश्वरेच्छाजनितो न स्वयं विद्यते लयः

Transliteration

pradhānapuṃsorajayoreṣa saṃhāra īritaḥ / maheśvarecchājanito na svayaṃ vidyate layaḥ

Translation

此即所宣说：原质（Pradhāna）与灵我（Puruṣa）连同诸德性（guṇa）之解散。解散并非自然而然发生；唯由大自在天（Maheśvara）之意志而起。

Word by Word

• प्रधानपुंसोः: of Pradhāna and Puruṣa
• प्रधानपुंसोः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रधान + पुंस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन (Dual); इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व: प्रधानं च पुंस् च (of Pradhāna and Puruṣa)

• अजयोः: of the two unborn (ones)
• अजयोः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन (Dual); ‘अज’ = unborn

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

• संहारः: withdrawal/dissolution
• संहारः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• ईरितः: is declared
• ईरितः: Kriya (क्रिया/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ईर् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); ‘ईर्’ (to state/declare)

• महेश्वर-इच्छा-जनितः: produced by Maheśvara’s will
• महेश्वर-इच्छा-जनितः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महेश्वर + इच्छा + जनित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: महेश्वरस्य इच्छया जनितः

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• स्वयम्: by itself
• स्वयम्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय)
• Form: स्वतन्त्रार्थक-अव्यय (adverb: by itself)

• विद्यते: exists/is found
• विद्यते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद; ‘विद्’ (to be found/exist)

• लयः: dissolution (as an independent entity)
• लयः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in a Shaiva-theistic idiom (Maheśvara as Īśvara)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara
• Pradhāna
• Puruṣa
• Laya (Dissolution)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It emphasizes a supreme governing Īśvara (here named Maheśvara) whose will initiates cosmic dissolution, implying that ultimate reality is not an unconscious mechanism but a conscious lordship directing Prakṛti and Puruṣa.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse supports Īśvara-centric contemplation: in Pāśupata-oriented teaching, one meditates on the Lord as the inner ruler whose icchā governs creation and dissolution, cultivating surrender (īśvara-praṇidhāna) and detachment from guṇic processes.

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

Though spoken in the Kurma Purana’s Vaishnava setting, it attributes cosmic control to Maheśvara, reflecting the text’s Shaiva–Vaishnava unity where the supreme Lord can be expressed through Shiva terminology without contradiction.