Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage
मार्कण्डेय उवाच कथयिष्यामि ते वत्स या चेष्टा यच्च तत्फलम् / पुरा महर्षिभिः सम्यक् कथ्यमानं मया श्रुतम्
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca kathayiṣyāmi te vatsa yā ceṣṭā yacca tatphalam / purā maharṣibhiḥ samyak kathyamānaṃ mayā śrutam
Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: „Geliebtes Kind, ich will dir sagen, welche Lebensführung man ergreifen soll und welche Frucht daraus erwächst—so wie ich es einst von den großen ṛṣis rechtmäßig dargelegt vernommen habe.“
Markandeya
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
This verse does not define Ātman directly; it establishes the authoritative teaching lineage (heard from maharṣis) and frames the coming instruction on right conduct and its results—foundational for later self-knowledge and liberation teachings in the Purāṇa.
No specific yoga technique is named here; the verse introduces a structured exposition of ceṣṭā (disciplined practice/conduct) and tat-phala (its fruits), a common Purāṇic framework that later accommodates vows, devotion, and yogic discipline (including Shaiva-Vaishnava syntheses such as Pāśupata-oriented practice in related sections).
It does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu explicitly; instead, it foregrounds a shared Vedic-Purāṇic pedagogy—truth transmitted by great seers—within which the Kurma Purana often presents harmonizing (non-sectarian) teachings in later contexts.