Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 70

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

Devanagari script

प्रजापतीनां सर्गस्तु वर्णधर्माश्च वृत्तयः / धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाणां यथावल्लक्षणं शुभम्

Transliteration

prajāpatīnāṃ sargastu varṇadharmāśca vṛttayaḥ / dharmārthakāmamokṣāṇāṃ yathāvallakṣaṇaṃ śubham

Translation

经中吉祥地阐明了诸生主（Prajāpati）的创造，诸种姓之法与其正当生计，并如其应然地说明了法（Dharma）、利（Artha）、欲（Kāma）与解脱（Mokṣa）的真实相状。

Word by Word

• prajāpatīnām: of the Prajāpatis
• prajāpatīnām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitival relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajāpati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (Genitive, 6th), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• sargaḥ: creation, emanation
• sargaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• tu: and/indeed
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (सम्बन्धबोधक/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (nipāta)

• varṇa-dharmāḥ: duties of the social classes
• varṇa-dharmāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय/Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction

• vṛttayaḥ: modes of life, conduct
• vṛttayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣāṇām: of dharma, artha, kāma, and mokṣa
• dharma-artha-kāma-mokṣāṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitival relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक) + kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (Masculine), Ṣaṣṭhī vibhakti (Genitive, 6th), Bahuvacana (Plural); itaretara-dvandva (copulative)

• yathāvat: properly, as it should be
• yathāvat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (manner)

• lakṣaṇam: characteristic, definition
• lakṣaṇam: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (Neuter), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular)

• śubham: auspicious, good
• śubham: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga (Neuter), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative, 1st), Ekavacana (Singular); qualifies lakṣaṇam

Speaker

Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing in Purāṇic dharma and cosmology context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Prajapati
• Dharma
• Artha
• Kama
• Moksha

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

Indirectly: by highlighting Mokṣa as a distinct puruṣārtha with a proper “lakṣaṇa,” it implies liberation is a definable, highest goal beyond worldly aims, typically realized through knowledge and disciplined dharma leading toward Self-realization.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yoga technique is taught in this verse; it frames the dhārmic foundation—right duties (varṇa-dharma) and right livelihood (vṛtti)—as the ordered life that supports higher pursuit culminating in Mokṣa, which later Kurma Purana sections connect with yogic and devotional disciplines.

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

It does not name Śiva or Viṣṇu directly, but its purāṇic program—cosmology, dharma, and mokṣa taught by Lord Kūrma—fits the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis where sectarian paths are harmonized under a single dharma leading to liberation.