Shloka 16
The Determination of the Extent of the Sacred Field and Related Matters
Kurukṣetra Māhātmya
अब्रह्मण्यक्षत्रवधाद्ये च रक्तह्रदाः कृताः । तद्रक्तेन तु संतर्प्य कृतवांस्तत्र वै तपः ॥ १६ ॥
abrahmaṇyakṣatravadhādye ca raktahradāḥ kṛtāḥ | tadraktena tu saṃtarpya kṛtavāṃstatra vai tapaḥ || 16 ||
Und jene blutroten Tümpel, die durch die Tötung der Kṣatriyas entstanden waren—mit eben diesem Blut besänftigte er sie und vollzog dort tapas.
Narada (narrating a Tirtha-Mahatmya episode)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It highlights a Tirtha-Mahatmya theme: grave violence (kṣatra-vadha) generates heavy karmic residue, and the narrative frames austerity (tapas) and appeasement (saṃtarpana) as means of confronting and ritually processing that burden at a sacred site.
Bhakti is not explicit here; the verse instead emphasizes tapas and ritual appeasement. In the Narada Purana’s broader Uttara-bhāga style, such acts are typically presented as preparatory purification that supports later devotion to Viṣṇu through steadier mind and dharmic alignment.
The verse points most closely to Kalpa (ritual procedure) via saṃtarpana/appeasement and the idea of prescribed austerities (tapas) as a form of prāyaścitta; it is not a direct teaching on Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Śikṣā in this line.