Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 55
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide
क्रव्यादांस्तु मृगान् हत्वा धेनुं दद्यात् पयस्विनीम् / अक्रव्यादान् वत्सतरीमुष्ट्रं हत्वा तु कृष्णलम्
kravyādāṃstu mṛgān hatvā dhenuṃ dadyāt payasvinīm / akravyādān vatsatarīmuṣṭraṃ hatvā tu kṛṣṇalam
Having killed flesh-eating wild animals, one should give in charity a milch-cow rich in milk. Having killed non–flesh-eating animals, one should give a heifer; and having killed a camel, one should offer a kṛṣṇala (a small weight/coin of gold) as expiation.
Sūta (narrating Vyāsa’s teaching to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
Indirectly: by prescribing prāyaścitta through dāna, it teaches karmic accountability and inner purification (śuddhi) as a prerequisite for steady Self-knowledge; ethical repair supports clarity for ātma-jñāna.
No specific āsana or dhyāna is stated; the practice emphasized is karmayoga-like purification—restoring dharma through charity after harm, which aligns with the Kurma Purana’s broader discipline of śauca (purity) supporting higher yoga.
This verse is primarily dharma-śāstra in tone; it reflects the Purana’s synthesis by grounding spiritual life in shared ethical dharma, a foundation upon which both Shaiva (Pāśupata) and Vaishnava (Nārāyaṇa-bhakti) paths are said to flourish.