Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 9

Īśvara-gītā: Antaryāmin, Kāla, and the Divine Ordinance Governing Creation, Preservation, and Pralaya

Devanagari script

ताभ्यां संजायते विश्वं संयुक्ताभ्यां परस्परम् / महदादिक्रमेणैव मम तेजो विजृम्भते

Transliteration

tābhyāṃ saṃjāyate viśvaṃ saṃyuktābhyāṃ parasparam / mahadādikrameṇaiva mama tejo vijṛmbhate

Translation

由彼二者彼此相合，此一切宇宙得以出生；并且依从自“大我”(Mahat)等诸真理(tattva)之次第，我的神圣光辉(Tejas)展开而广大。

Word by Word

• ताभ्याम्: by/through those two
• ताभ्याम्: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), स्त्रीलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्विवचनस्य तृतीया/पञ्चमी (Instrumental/Ablative dual)

• संजायते: is produced/arises
• संजायते: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) + सम्- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगः (middle/passive sense): “is born/arises”

• विश्वम्: the universe
• विश्वम्: कर्म (Karman/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.)

• संयुक्ताभ्याम्: (by) the two united
• संयुक्ताभ्याम्: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa of ताभ्याम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + युज् (धातु) → संयुक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), तृतीया/पञ्चमी द्विवचन (Instr./Abl. dual), स्त्री/नपुंसक-सामान्य; “joined/combined (two)”

• परस्परम्: mutually
• परस्परम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परस्पर (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), परस्पर-भावे (reciprocally)

• महत्-आदि-क्रमेण: by the sequence beginning with Mahat
• महत्-आदि-क्रमेण: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument; manner/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (determinative): “महदादि-क्रम” (sequence beginning with Mahat); पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (Instr. sg.)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) अवधारणे (emphasis)

• मम: of me/my
• मम: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन (Gen. sg.)

• तेजः: splendor/energy
• तेजः: कर्ता (Kartā/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (Nom. sg.)

• विजृम्भते: expands/manifests
• विजृम्भते: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जृम्भ् (धातु) + वि- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; “expands/manifests”

Speaker

Lord Kurma (Vishnu) teaching in the Ishvara Gita context

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Lord Kurma
• Vishnu
• Mahat (tattva)

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

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

It presents the Supreme as the source whose tejas (divine power) manifests the cosmos through an ordered tattva-process; creation is an expansion of divine potency, not a separate independent reality.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

While not prescribing a technique directly, it supports tattva-viveka (discriminative contemplation of Mahat and subsequent principles) used in Yoga to trace effects back to the Lord as the inner ground of manifestation.

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

By framing cosmic emergence as the unfolding of the one Lord’s tejas in a tattva-sequence, it aligns with the Kurma Purana’s non-sectarian stance where Shaiva and Vaishnava theologies converge on a single supreme source.