Shloka 79
Narmadā–Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Sequence of Sacred Fords and Their Fruits
ततो गच्छेत राजेन्द्र यमतीर्थ मनुत्तमम् / कृष्णपक्षे चतुर्दश्यां माघमासे युधिष्ठिर / स्नानं कृत्वा नक्तभीजी न पश्येद् योनिसङ्कटम्
tato gaccheta rājendra yamatīrtha manuttamam / kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśyāṃ māghamāse yudhiṣṭhira / snānaṃ kṛtvā naktabhījī na paśyed yonisaṅkaṭam
Thereafter, O best of kings, one should go to the supremely excellent Yama-tīrtha. O Yudhiṣṭhira, on the fourteenth lunar day (caturdaśī) of the dark fortnight in Māgha, having bathed there and observed the naktabhojī vow (eating only at night), one does not behold the anguish of entering the womb again.
Narrator-sage addressing King (rājendra); verse also vocatively addresses Yudhiṣṭhira within the discourse
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames liberation as freedom from yonisaṅkaṭa (the compulsion of rebirth), implying the highest aim is release into one’s true nature beyond embodied becoming, attained through purificatory discipline and sacred rites.
A vrata-based discipline is taught: Māgha-snāna at a tīrtha combined with naktabhojī (regulated diet/fasting). In Purāṇic yoga-dharma, such niyama-like restraints purify karma and steady the mind for higher sādhana.
This specific verse is tīrtha-vrata oriented and does not explicitly mention Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; yet it aligns with the Kurma Purāṇa’s synthesis by presenting liberation as accessible through dharma (vrata, tīrtha, snāna) that supports the broader yogic and theistic path taught elsewhere.