Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 17
Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage
युधिष्ठिर उवाच भगवञ्च्छ्रोतुमिच्छामि प्रयागगमने फलम् / मृतानां का गतिस्तत्र स्नातानामपि किं फलम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca bhagavañcchrotumicchāmi prayāgagamane phalam / mṛtānāṃ kā gatistatra snātānāmapi kiṃ phalam
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O erhabener Herr, ich wünsche die Frucht der Reise nach Prayāga zu hören. Welches Geschick haben jene, die dort sterben, und welchen Lohn erlangen selbst die, die dort nur baden?“
Yudhiṣṭhira
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it frames a dharma-question about sacred geography (tīrtha) and karmic destiny, implying that inner liberation is supported by purifying acts like pilgrimage and bathing when aligned with right intention.
No specific yogic technique is taught in this line; the practice emphasized is tīrtha-sevā—going to Prayāga and bathing as a purificatory discipline that prepares the mind for higher sādhanā (including the Kurma Purana’s later yoga-oriented teachings).
The verse is a neutral inquiry about Prayāga’s merit and does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; within the Kurma Purana’s broader Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis, such tīrtha merits are typically presented as upheld by the one Supreme Lord worshipped in multiple forms.