Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 24
Vānaprastha-Dharma: Forest Discipline, Vaikhānasa Austerities, and Śiva-Āśrama as the Liberative Refuge
नक्तं चान्न समश्नीयाद् दिवा चाहृत्य शक्तितः / चतुर्थकालिको वा स्यात् स्याद्वाप्यष्टमकालिकः
naktaṃ cānna samaśnīyād divā cāhṛtya śaktitaḥ / caturthakāliko vā syāt syādvāpyaṣṭamakālikaḥ
He should not eat at night; rather, having procured food by day according to his capacity, he may live by eating in the fourth part of the day—or even in the eighth part of the day.
Traditional attribution: a teaching voice within the Purāṇic dialogue (instructional discourse to the inquirer), aligned with Kurma Purana’s dharma-yoga injunctions
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
Indirectly: by prescribing restraint over appetite and time, it supports inner mastery (indriya-nigraha), a prerequisite for steady contemplation in which the Self is realized beyond bodily cravings.
A practical niyama of āhāra-niyama (regulated diet and timing): do not eat at night; obtain food by day within one’s means; adopt measured meal-timing (caturtha-kālika or the more austere aṣṭama-kālika), strengthening tapas and meditation-readiness.
Not by naming them, but through shared sādhanā principles: the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis often expresses unity through common yogic disciplines—restraint, tapas, and dharma—accepted across both Śaiva (including Pāśupata) and Vaiṣṇava streams.