Narmadā-tīrtha-māhātmya — Bhṛgu-tīrtha to Sāgara-saṅgama
Pilgrimage Circuit, Gifts, Fasting, and Imperishable Merit
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे एकोनचत्वारिशो ऽध्यायः मार्कण्डेय उवाच ततो गच्छेत राजेन्द्र भृगुतीर्थ मनुत्तमम् / तत्र देवो भृगुः पुर्वं रुद्रमाराधयत् पुरा
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge ekonacatvāriśo 'dhyāyaḥ mārkaṇḍeya uvāca tato gaccheta rājendra bhṛgutīrtha manuttamam / tatra devo bhṛguḥ purvaṃ rudramārādhayat purā
So beginnt im Śrī Kūrma-Purāṇa — in der Sammlung von sechstausend Versen, im späteren Teil — das vierzigste Kapitel. Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: „Dann, o Bester der Könige, soll man zur Bhṛgu-Tīrtha gehen, der vortrefflichsten unter den heiligen Furten; denn dort hat einst in uralter Zeit der göttliche Weise Bhṛgu Rudra (Śiva) verehrt.“
Markaṇḍeya
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Indirectly: by honoring Rudra through tīrtha-worship, the verse frames liberation-oriented practice as approaching the Supreme through revered forms (Īśvara-bhakti), a hallmark of the Kurma Purana’s integrative theology.
The verse emphasizes ārādhana (devotional propitiation) at a tīrtha—an outer discipline supporting inner yoga: purification, steadiness of mind, and focused devotion, which the Kurma Purana often treats as preparatory to deeper yogic realization.
By placing Rudra’s worship within the Kūrma Purāṇa’s authoritative narrative, it normalizes reverence to Śiva in a Vaiṣṇava-framed Purāṇa, reflecting the text’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis rather than sectarian opposition.