Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 26
Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage
स्वकर्मणावृतो लोको नैव गच्छति तत्पदम् / स्वल्पं स्वल्पतरं पापं यदा तस्य नराधिप / प्रयागं स्मरमाणस्य सर्वमायाति संक्षयम्
svakarmaṇāvṛto loko naiva gacchati tatpadam / svalpaṃ svalpataraṃ pāpaṃ yadā tasya narādhipa / prayāgaṃ smaramāṇasya sarvamāyāti saṃkṣayam
إن العالم محجوب بأعماله (الكَرْما) فلا يبلغ ذلك المقام الأعلى. ولكن، أيها الملك، إذا بقيت حتى أصغر الذنوب وأدقّها عالقة، فإن من يذكر براياگا تفنى عنه جميعها فناءً تامًّا.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing King Indradyumna on tīrtha-mahātmya and karmic purification
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It implies the supreme goal (“tatpadam”) is obscured by karma; liberation is not merely geographical but a state attained when karmic coverings (including subtle pāpa) are exhausted—here aided by sacred remembrance of Prayāga.
The verse highlights smaraṇa (sacred recollection) as a purificatory discipline that supports yoga: by reducing pāpa and karmic obstruction, remembrance of a tīrtha becomes an auxiliary practice (aṅga) to steadier dhyāna and higher realization emphasized in Kurma Purana’s yoga-oriented teaching.
Though Vishnu (as Lord Kūrma) speaks, the teaching aligns with the Purana’s synthetic approach: tīrtha-purification and liberation are presented as universal dharmic means rather than sectarian—supporting the shared Shaiva-Vaishnava framework that underlies Kurma Purana’s spiritual program.