Kurma Stotram
कूर्म स्तोत्रम् in English · English
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✦ Meaning
The Kurma Stotram is the hymn of surrender offered by the gods to the Supreme Lord Vishnu, drawn from the Srimad Bhagavata Purana (Canto 3, Chapter 5). In thirteen verses the devas bow to the Lord's lotus feet — the umbrella that shelters the surrendered from all suffering — declaring that sages who take refuge there cast off the misery of samsara, and praying for his grace and guiding vision to carry out the work of creation. It is a profound prayer extolling refuge (sharanagati) at the feet of the Lord whose incarnations sustain the worlds.
Origin & Story
Srimad Bhagavata Purana, Canto 3, Chapter 5 (verses 38–50) · Maharshi Veda Vyasa (traditional) · Puranic
Kurma is the tortoise incarnation of Vishnu, who bore the mountain Mandara on his back during the churning of the ocean of milk. This stotra, preserved in the Srimad Bhagavata Purana, is the prayer of surrender offered by the gods to the Supreme Lord. Bowing at his lotus feet, the devas extol him as the refuge of all sages and the primeval Person who incarnates to create, sustain and dissolve the worlds, and they beseech his grace and guiding vision to fulfil their appointed role in creation.
✦ As told in scripture
It is traditionally held that the lotus feet of the Lord, glorified in this hymn, when merely remembered bestow abhaya — fearlessness — upon the surrendered soul; devotees believe that sincere recitation, like the gods' own prayer, draws the Lord's protective grace and frees the heart from the threefold suffering of worldly life.
Complete Text with Meaning
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namāma te deva padāravindaṃ prapannatāpopaśamātapatram | yanmūlaketā yatayo'ñjasorusaṃsāraduḥkhaṃ bahirutkṣipanti || 1 ||
Meaning:We bow to your lotus feet, O Lord — feet that are like a sheltering umbrella subduing the sufferings of all who surrender, the feet which sages take as their refuge and thereby cast far away the great misery of worldly existence.
dhātaryadasmin bhava īśa jīvāstāpatrayeṇopahatā na śarma | ātmam̐llabhante bhagavaṃstavāṅghricchāyāṃ savidyāmata āśrayema || 2 ||
Meaning:O Sustainer, O Lord, in this world the living beings, stricken by the threefold misery, find no happiness; therefore we take shelter in the shade of your feet, which is joined with true knowledge.
mārganti yatte mukhapadmanīḍaiśchandaḥsuparṇairṛṣayo vivikte | yasyāghamarṣodasaridvarāyā padaṃ padaṃ tīrthapadaḥ prapannāḥ || 3 ||
Meaning:In solitude the sages, like birds nesting in the lotus of your face through the Vedic hymns, seek you — surrendering at every step to the Lord whose feet are the supreme holy ford, the source of the sin-destroying celestial Ganga.
yachchraddhayā śrutavatyāṃ cha bhaktyā saṃmṛjyamāne hṛdaye'vadhāya | jñānena vairāgyabalena dhīrā vrajema tatte'ṅghrisarojapīṭham || 4 ||
Meaning:Upon the heart cleansed by faith and devotion through hearing of you, the steadfast ones, by knowledge and the strength of dispassion, fix their minds and so reach that lotus-seat of your feet.
viśvasya janmasthitisaṃyamārthe kṛtāvatārasya padāmbujaṃ te | vrajema sarve śaraṇaṃ yadīśa smṛtaṃ prayachchhatyabhayaṃ svapuṃsām || 5 ||
Meaning:For the creation, maintenance and dissolution of the universe you have taken your incarnation; we all go for refuge to your lotus feet, O Lord, which, merely remembered, bestow fearlessness upon your devotees.
yatsānubandhe'sati dehagehe mamāhamityūḍhadurāgrahāṇām | puṃsāṃ sudūraṃ vasato'pi puryāṃ bhajema tatte bhagavanpadābjam || 6 ||
Meaning:Though you dwell far from those who, clinging with the false notions of 'I' and 'mine' to the body and home with all their entanglements, are obstinate in delusion — yet, O Lord, may we worship those lotus feet of yours.
tānvā asadvṛttibhirakṣibhirye parāhṛtāntarmanasaḥ pareśa | atho na paśyantyurugāya nūnaṃ ye te padanyāsavilāsalakṣmyāḥ || 7 ||
Meaning:Those whose inner minds are dragged away by the senses fixed on base pursuits surely do not behold, O much-glorified one, the splendour and beauty of the placing of your feet.
pānena te deva kathāsudhāyāḥ pravṛddhabhaktyā viśadāśayā ye | vairāgyasāraṃ pratilabhya bodhaṃ yathāñjasānvīyurakuṇṭhadhiṣṇyam || 8 ||
Meaning:But those of pure heart who, by drinking the nectar of your divine stories with ever-growing devotion, attain the essence of dispassion and right knowledge, easily reach your unobstructed supreme abode.
tathāpare chātmasamādhiyogabalena jitvā prakṛtiṃ baliṣṭhām | tvāmeva dhīrāḥ puruṣaṃ viśanti teṣāṃ śramaḥ syānna tu sevayā te || 9 ||
Meaning:And others, the steadfast, having conquered mighty material nature by the power of yoga and self-absorption, enter into you, the Supreme Person; for them all toil ceases — though this is not as easy as serving you with devotion.
tatte vayaṃ lokasisṛkṣayādya tvayānusṛṣṭāstribhirātmabhiḥ sma | sarve viyuktāḥ svavihāratantraṃ na śaknumastatpratihartave te || 10 ||
Meaning:Now, O Unborn One, we have been brought forth by you through your three forms (the gunas) for the creation of the worlds; yet, separated and each acting on its own, we are unable to carry out for you the work of creation.
yāvadbaliṃ te'ja harāma kāle yathā vayaṃ chānnamadāma yatra | yathobhayeṣāṃ ta ime hi lokā baliṃ haranto'nnamadantyanūhāḥ || 11 ||
Meaning:Grant, O Unborn, that we may at the proper time offer you our oblations and partake of our food, so that both we and these created beings, offering tribute and eating, may flourish free of anxiety.
tvaṃ naḥ surāṇāmasi sānvayānāṃ kūṭastha ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ | tvaṃ devaśaktyāṃ guṇakarmayonau retastvajāyāṃ kavimādadhe'jaḥ || 12 ||
Meaning:You are the unchanging, primeval, ancient Supreme Person, the source of us gods and our lineage; you, the Unborn, as the Purusha placed the seed in Prakriti (the womb of the gunas and karma) to bring forth the creator (Brahma).
tato vayaṃ satpramukhā yadarthe babhūvimātmankaravāma kiṃ te | tvaṃ naḥ svachakṣuḥ paridehi śaktyā devakriyārthe yadanugrahāṇām || 13 ||
Meaning:For what purpose, then, have we and the foremost beings come into being? O Lord, what shall we do for you? Graciously bestow on us your own guiding vision and power, that we may accomplish the work of the gods that depends on your grace.
Word-by-Word Meaning
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Benefits of Chanting कूर्म स्तोत्रम्
A powerful prayer of sharanagati (surrender) at the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu
Remembering the Lord's feet through this hymn is said to bestow fearlessness (abhaya)
Cultivates dispassion (vairagya) and discernment (jnana) as praised in its verses
Drawn directly from the sacred Srimad Bhagavata Purana, carrying its scriptural sanctity
Calms the threefold suffering (tapatraya) of body, mind and circumstance
Deepens devotion through reflection on the refuge of the Lord's incarnations
Suitable for daily recitation as a contemplative Vaishnava prayer
How to Chant कूर्म स्तोत्रम्
Sit calmly before an image of Lord Vishnu, light a lamp and recite the verses slowly, meditating on the Lord's lotus feet as the sole refuge that dispels all fear and sorrow. Reflect on each prayer of surrender. It is fittingly chanted on Ekadashi, during Vishnu festivals, and as part of regular Bhagavata study and recitation.
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