Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 14
Rules of Food, Acceptance, and Purity for the Twice-Born
Dvija-Śauca and Anna-Doṣa
पुनर्भुवो विशेषेण तथैव दिधिषूपतेः / अवज्ञातं चावधूतं सरोषं विस्मयान्वितम् / गुरोरपि न भोक्तव्यमन्नं संस्कारवर्जितम्
punarbhuvo viśeṣeṇa tathaiva didhiṣūpateḥ / avajñātaṃ cāvadhūtaṃ saroṣaṃ vismayānvitam / gurorapi na bhoktavyamannaṃ saṃskāravarjitam
Insbesondere soll man keine Speise von einer wiederverheirateten Frau essen, ebenso wenig von dem Gatten einer Frau, die erneut zur Ehe genommen wurde. Speise, die mit Verachtung dargeboten, hingeworfen, im Zorn gegeben oder mit unziemlicher Bestürzung gereicht wird, soll man nicht essen. Selbst Speise vom eigenen Lehrer soll man nicht essen, wenn sie der rechten heiligenden Riten (saṃskāra) entbehrt.
Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) instructing in dharma-śāstra mode (purity and conduct)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames spiritual life as grounded in śauca (purity) and saṃskāra (sanctifying discipline). Such regulation steadies the mind and supports inner clarity, which the Purāṇa treats as a prerequisite for realizing the Self beyond ritual and emotion.
This verse emphasizes preparatory yogic discipline rather than a technique: controlling intake (āhāra-śuddhi), avoiding food given in hostile or unstable mental states, and insisting on saṃskāra. In Kurma Purana’s broader teaching, such restraints function like yama/niyama supports for higher meditation and devotion.
By presenting dharma as a shared, non-sectarian foundation: purity, saṃskāra, and right conduct are upheld as universal supports for devotion and yoga, consistent with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where the same dharma undergirds worship of both Śiva and Viṣṇu.