Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 20
Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Mahālaya, Kedāra, Rivers and Fords, and Devadāru Forest
Akṣaya-Karma Doctrine
नदी त्रैलोक्यविख्याता ताम्रपर्णोति नामतः / तत्र स्नात्वा पितॄन् भक्त्या तर्पयित्वा यथाविधि / पापकर्तॄनपि पितॄस्तारयेन्नात्र संशयः
nadī trailokyavikhyātā tāmraparṇoti nāmataḥ / tatra snātvā pitṝn bhaktyā tarpayitvā yathāvidhi / pāpakartṝnapi pitṝstārayennātra saṃśayaḥ
هناك نهرٌ مشهور في العوالم الثلاثة يُدعى تامْرَپَرْنِي (Tāmraparṇī). من اغتسل فيه ثم قدّم، بتعبّد، التَّرْپَنَة للـپِتْرِ (الأجداد) على وفق الشعيرة المقرّرة، استطاع أن يخلّص حتى الأجداد الذين اقترفوا الذنب—ولا شكّ في ذلك.
Sūta (narrating the Kurma Purana’s tīrtha-māhātmya to the sages, in the traditional Purāṇic dialogue frame)
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: it emphasizes dharmic means (tīrtha-snāna and pitṛ-tarpaṇa) for purification and upliftment; the verse focuses on karmic release and ancestral deliverance rather than a direct ātman-definition.
Not aṣṭāṅga-yoga directly; the practice here is karma-yoga in a Purāṇic sense—devotional action (bhakti) expressed through prescribed rites (yathāvidhi snāna, tarpaṇa, śrāddha-oriented conduct) as a purifier supporting spiritual progress.
This verse is primarily tīrtha and pitṛ-dharma focused and does not explicitly mention Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; within the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis, such rites are upheld as universally dharmic, sanctioned across Shaiva and Vaishnava frameworks.