Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 60

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

Devanagari script

नमोस्तु व्योमतत्त्वाय महायोगेश्वराय च / परावराणां प्रभवे वेदवेद्याय ते नमः

Transliteration

namostu vyomatattvāya mahāyogeśvarāya ca / parāvarāṇāṃ prabhave vedavedyāya te namaḥ

Translation

顶礼于您，虚空之本理（vyoma-tattva）；顶礼于您，大瑜伽自在天（Mahāyogeśvara）。顶礼于您，超越与下界（para–apara）之源；顶礼于您，唯由吠陀而可知者。

Word by Word

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• astu: may it be
• astu: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• vyoma-tattvāya: to the principle of space/ether
• vyoma-tattvāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyoman (प्रातिपदिक) + tattva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (व्योम्नः तत्त्वम्)

• mahā-yoga-īśvarāya: to the Lord of great yoga
• mahā-yoga-īśvarāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + yoga (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (महायोगस्य ईश्वरः)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction ‘and’)

• para-avarāṇām: of the higher and the lower (all)
• para-avarāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + avara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (पराश्च अवराश्च)

• prabhave: to the source/lord
• prabhave: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन (प्रभु-शब्दः; दative: प्रभवे)

• veda-vedyāya: to the one knowable by the Vedas
• veda-vedyāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + vedya (विद् धातु; कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (वेदैः वेद्यः)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (युष्मद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन (enclitic)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

Speaker

A devotee/sage offering a stuti (hymn of praise) within the Kurma Purana’s Upari-bhaga discourse context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Mahāyogeśvara
• Veda
• Vyoma-tattva

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

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

By calling the Lord “vyoma-tattva” (space-principle) and the source of both higher and lower realities, the verse presents the Supreme as all-pervading, foundational, and transcendent—yet also the ground from which all levels of existence arise.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse does not list techniques, but it centers the goal: devotion and contemplation of the “Mahāyogeśvara,” the supreme master of yoga—implying inward absorption (dhyāna/samādhi) oriented to the all-pervading Lord who is the origin of all tattvas.

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

Using the epithet “Mahāyogeśvara” (often Shaiva) while praising the supreme Veda-known source of all (often Vaishnava), it reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative stance: the one Ishvara is praised through shared theological titles rather than sectarian separation.