Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 146
Devī-tattva, Śakti–Śaktimān doctrine, Kāla–Māyā cosmology, and Māheśvara Yoga instruction
कपिला कापिला कान्ताकनकाभाकलान्तरा / पुण्या पुष्करिणी भोक्त्री पुरन्दरपुरस्सरा
kapilā kāpilā kāntākanakābhākalāntarā / puṇyā puṣkariṇī bhoktrī purandarapurassarā
Kapilā, Kāpilā, la Rayonnante dont la beauté luit comme l’or; la sainte Puṇyā, la Puṣkariṇī, tel un lac de lotus, dispensatrice de jouissance et de subsistance, et celle qui précède la cité de Purandara (Indra).
Sūta (narrating the Kurma Purana’s sacred geography in a tirtha-mahatmya catalogue style)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shringara
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it praises sacred manifestations (names of a holy tank/river-like tirtha) whose merit purifies the seeker—preparing the mind for the Ātman-knowledge taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana (including the Ishvara Gītā sections).
No technique is taught explicitly; the implied discipline is tīrtha-sevā—pilgrimage, ritual bathing, and reverent contemplation—which functions as śuddhi (purification). In Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis, such purification supports steadiness for Pāśupata-oriented restraint, japa, and meditation.
The verse itself is a tirtha-epithet catalogue rather than a doctrinal statement; however, in the Kurma Purana’s integrative theology, sacred waters and their merits are shared means of purification honored across Shaiva and Vaishnava paths, supporting non-sectarian dharma leading toward the same highest realization.