Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 23
Kali-yuga Doṣas, the Supremacy of Rudra as Refuge, and the Closure of the Manvantara Teaching
तपोयज्ञफलानां च विक्रेतारो द्विजोत्तमाः / यतयश्च भविष्यन्ति शतशो ऽथ सहस्त्रशः
tapoyajñaphalānāṃ ca vikretāro dvijottamāḥ / yatayaśca bhaviṣyanti śataśo 'tha sahastraśaḥ
يا أفضلَ ذوي الولادتين، سيكون من البراهمة من يبيع ثمارَ التقشّف والقرابين؛ كما سيظهر الزهّاد (ياتي) بالمئات، بل بالآلاف.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing sages on Kali-yuga traits
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
Indirectly: by condemning the commercialization of tapas and yajña, the verse implies that true spiritual realization is inward and cannot be bought or sold; Atman-knowledge is not a marketable “result” but a transformation of being.
The verse highlights tapas (disciplined austerity) and yajña (sacrificial worship) as authentic disciplines, while warning that in Kali-yuga their “fruits” may be treated as commodities; it also cautions against the rise of merely outward, ungrounded renunciant identities.
It supports the Purana’s synthetic stance by emphasizing dharma-based inner discipline over sectarian display—an ethic shared across Shaiva-Pashupata and Vaishnava traditions, where genuine yoga and worship are measured by integrity, not by public branding.