Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Vārāṇasī (Avimukta) Māhātmya and the Catalogue of Guhya-Tīrthas
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे द्वात्रिंशो ऽध्यायः सूत उवाच ततः सर्वाणि गुह्यानि तीर्थान्यायतनानि च / जगाम भगवान् व्यासो जैमिनिप्रमुखैर्वृतः
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge dvātriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ sūta uvāca tataḥ sarvāṇi guhyāni tīrthānyāyatanāni ca / jagāma bhagavān vyāso jaiminipramukhairvṛtaḥ
So endet im Śrī Kūrma-Purāṇa, in der Saṃhitā von sechstausend Versen, im Pūrva-bhāga, das zweiunddreißigste Kapitel. Sūta sprach: Danach brach der verehrungswürdige Bhagavān Vyāsa—umgeben von Weisen unter Führung Jaiminis—zu allen geheimen Tīrthas (guhya-tīrtha) und heiligen Heiligtümern (āyatana) auf.
Sūta
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse is primarily narrative (itihāsa-style) and does not directly define Ātman; it frames Vyāsa’s movement through tīrthas, implying the Purāṇic view that sacred places and disciplined pilgrimage can support inner purification that culminates in Self-knowledge.
No explicit yoga technique is stated; however, the motif of visiting guhya-tīrthas and āyatanas points to tīrtha-yātrā as a dhārmic discipline—supporting śuddhi (purification), vrata (observance), and devotional contemplation that the Kurma Purāṇa later aligns with yogic restraint and worship.
The verse does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu, yet within the Kurma Purāṇa’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, Vyāsa’s pilgrimage to tīrthas and shrines can be read as reverence toward the unified sacred landscape where both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava sanctuaries function as supports for liberation-oriented dharma.