Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 15
Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage
मार्कण्डेय उवाच शृणु राजन् महाभाग यन्मां पृच्छसि भारत् / प्रयागगमनं श्रेष्ठं नराणां पापनाशनम्
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca śṛṇu rājan mahābhāga yanmāṃ pṛcchasi bhārat / prayāgagamanaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ narāṇāṃ pāpanāśanam
Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: Höre, o König, du überaus glückseliger Nachkomme Bharatas, was du mich fragst. Die Pilgerfahrt nach Prayāga ist für die Menschen die höchste, denn sie vernichtet Sünde.
Sage Markandeya
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it frames dharmic purification through tīrtha-yātrā, implying that inner clarity and spiritual fitness are supported by acts that remove pāpa (sin) and cultivate purity.
No specific yogic technique is named here; the emphasis is on tīrtha-gamana (pilgrimage) as a purificatory discipline that traditionally complements japa, snāna (ritual bathing), vrata, and meditation undertaken at sacred confluences like Prayāga.
The verse itself is neutral on Shiva–Vishnu theology; it supports the Kurma Purana’s broader integrative approach by presenting tīrtha-mahātmyas (sacred geography) as universally efficacious within a shared dharmic framework honored by both Shaiva and Vaishnava traditions.