Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 58
Avimukta-Māhātmya — Vyāsa in Vārāṇasī and Śiva’s Secret Teaching of Liberation
यानि चैवाविमुक्तस्य देहे तूक्तानि कृत्स्नशः / पुरी वाराणसी तेभ्यः स्थानेभ्यो ह्यधिकाशुभा
yāni caivāvimuktasya dehe tūktāni kṛtsnaśaḥ / purī vārāṇasī tebhyaḥ sthānebhyo hyadhikāśubhā
Tous les lieux sacrés dont il a été dit en entier qu’ils résident dans le corps d’Avimukta; pourtant, la cité de Vārāṇasī est plus faste encore que ces mêmes stations.
Narrator (Purāṇic dialogue voice, within the Kurma Purana’s kṣetra-māhātmya context)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By presenting Avimukta as a “body” containing sacred stations, the verse uses an inner–outer correspondence: holiness is not merely geographic but reflects an indwelling sacred reality, implying that the highest sanctity is tied to the ever-present divine principle rather than to dispersed locations alone.
While not prescribing a technique directly, the verse supports a yogic hermeneutic common in the Kurma Purana: mapping tīrthas onto the body encourages inward contemplation (deha-kṣetra-bhāvanā), turning pilgrimage into interiorized practice aligned with Shaiva disciplines and purificatory sādhanā.
By exalting Kāśī/Avimukta—classically associated with Śiva—within a Purāṇa that also integrates Vaiṣṇava frames, the verse exemplifies the Kurma Purana’s synthetic stance: supreme auspiciousness is affirmed through Śaiva kṣetra-glory without negating broader Purāṇic unity.