Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 14
Rules of Food, Acceptance, and Purity for the Twice-Born
Dvija-Śauca and Anna-Doṣa
पुनर्भुवो विशेषेण तथैव दिधिषूपतेः / अवज्ञातं चावधूतं सरोषं विस्मयान्वितम् / गुरोरपि न भोक्तव्यमन्नं संस्कारवर्जितम्
punarbhuvo viśeṣeṇa tathaiva didhiṣūpateḥ / avajñātaṃ cāvadhūtaṃ saroṣaṃ vismayānvitam / gurorapi na bhoktavyamannaṃ saṃskāravarjitam
En particular, no debe comerse la comida de una mujer vuelta a casar, ni tampoco la del esposo de una mujer tomada de nuevo en matrimonio. La comida ofrecida con desprecio, arrojada al suelo, dada con ira o con asombro impropio, no debe comerse. Incluso la comida del propio maestro no debe comerse si carece de los debidos ritos santificadores (saṃskāra).
Lord Kūrma (Viṣṇu) instructing in dharma-śāstra mode (purity and conduct)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames spiritual life as grounded in śauca (purity) and saṃskāra (sanctifying discipline). Such regulation steadies the mind and supports inner clarity, which the Purāṇa treats as a prerequisite for realizing the Self beyond ritual and emotion.
This verse emphasizes preparatory yogic discipline rather than a technique: controlling intake (āhāra-śuddhi), avoiding food given in hostile or unstable mental states, and insisting on saṃskāra. In Kurma Purana’s broader teaching, such restraints function like yama/niyama supports for higher meditation and devotion.
By presenting dharma as a shared, non-sectarian foundation: purity, saṃskāra, and right conduct are upheld as universal supports for devotion and yoga, consistent with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where the same dharma undergirds worship of both Śiva and Viṣṇu.