Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 35
Śrāddha-Kāla-Nirṇaya: Proper Times, Nakṣatra Fruits, Tīrtha Merit, and Offerings for Ancestral Rites
नर्मदायां कुशावर्ते श्रीशैले भद्रकर्णके / वेत्रवत्यां विपाशायां गोदावर्यां विशेषतः
narmadāyāṃ kuśāvarte śrīśaile bhadrakarṇake / vetravatyāṃ vipāśāyāṃ godāvaryāṃ viśeṣataḥ
على نهر نَرْمَدا عند كوشافرتا، وعلى شريشايلَة عند بهادراكَرْنَكَة، وعلى نهر فيترافَتي، وعلى فيباشا، و—وخاصةً على نحوٍ أبلغ—على جودافَري؛ فهذه المياه والمواضع المقدّسة جديرةٌ بالتعظيم والتبجيل.
Suta (narrator) recounting the tirtha-listing taught by the sages within the Kurma Purana’s discourse framework
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is primarily a tirtha-list (sacred geography) and does not directly define Ātman; it supports the Purāṇic view that sacred places and rivers can purify the mind, making it fit for Self-knowledge taught elsewhere in the text.
No specific āsana or meditation technique is stated; the implied discipline is tīrtha-sevā—pilgrimage, ritual bathing, and worship at sanctified rivers and kṣetras as preparatory purification aligned with dharma and later yogic instruction.
By honoring pan-Indic tīrthas such as Śrīśaila (strongly Śaiva) alongside major rivers revered across Vaiṣṇava traditions, the verse reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative sacred map, consistent with its Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis.