Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 8
Varnāśrama-Krama, Vairāgya as the Ground of Saṃnyāsa, and Brahmārpaṇa Karma-yoga
वानप्रस्थाश्रमं गत्वा न गृहं प्रविशेत् पुनः / न संन्यासी वनं चाथ ब्रह्माचर्यं न साधकः
vānaprasthāśramaṃ gatvā na gṛhaṃ praviśet punaḥ / na saṃnyāsī vanaṃ cātha brahmācaryaṃ na sādhakaḥ
مَن دخل أشرمَ الفانَبرَسْثا (ساكن الغابة) فلا ينبغي له أن يعود ثانيةً إلى بيت ربّ الأسرة. وكذلك السَّنْياسي (المتجرّد) لا يرجع إلى نمط الفانَبرَسْثا؛ ولا يترك السادهَكا (السالك) انضباطه اللائق فيتراجع إلى مرحلة البْرَهْمَتشارْيا.
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing on dharma
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
Indirectly: it teaches steadiness (niṣṭhā) and non-regression in one’s vowed life, a prerequisite for inner purification by which realization of the Self becomes possible in the Kurma Purana’s dharmic-yogic framework.
The verse emphasizes āśrama-niyama—firm adherence to one’s chosen life-stage and discipline. In the Kurma Purana’s yoga-ethics, such stability supports tapas, sense-restraint, and sustained sādhana that later culminate in meditative absorption.
By presenting a shared dharmic foundation for liberation—ethical discipline and renunciation—this aligns with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis: the same supreme teaching (whether framed through Śiva/Pāśupata or Viṣṇu/Kūrma) requires unwavering commitment to sādhana.