Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 1
Tīrtha-Māhātmya and the Discipline of Pilgrimage (Tīrtha-sevā) within Prāyaścitta
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे एकचत्वारिंशो ऽध्यायः सूत उवाच अन्यच्च तीर्थप्रवरं जप्येश्वरसमीपतः / नाम्ना पञ्चनदं पुण्यं सर्वपापप्रणाशनम्
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge ekacatvāriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ sūta uvāca anyacca tīrthapravaraṃ japyeśvarasamīpataḥ / nāmnā pañcanadaṃ puṇyaṃ sarvapāpapraṇāśanam
Thus, in the Śrī Kūrma Purāṇa, in the Ṣaṭsāhasrī Saṃhitā, in the latter division—here ends the forty-first chapter. Sūta said: “And further, near Japyeśvara there is a foremost sacred ford, known as Pañcanada—holy, and the destroyer of all sins.”
Sūta
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it emphasizes purification through a sacred tīrtha (Pañcanada), implying the Purāṇic view that inner clarity for spiritual realization is supported by dhārmic acts like pilgrimage.
No specific yogic technique is taught in this line; the practice implied is tīrtha-sevā (pilgrimage and ritual bathing), a preparatory discipline aligned with Purāṇic sādhanā for cleansing pāpa and supporting higher yoga.
By locating a meritorious tīrtha near Japyeśvara (a Śaiva locus) within the Kūrma Purāṇa (a Vaiṣṇava-Śaiva synthesizing text), it reflects the Purāṇa’s integrative sacred landscape where devotion and merit transcend sectarian boundaries.