Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 13
Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage
निहता वहवो युद्धे पुंसो निरपराधिनः / अस्माभिः कौरवैः सार्धं प्रसङ्गान्मुनिपुङ्गव
nihatā vahavo yuddhe puṃso niraparādhinaḥ / asmābhiḥ kauravaiḥ sārdhaṃ prasaṅgānmunipuṅgava
Ô le plus éminent des sages, beaucoup d’hommes innocents ont été tués dans la guerre—par simple enchevêtrement des circonstances—avec nous, les Kaurava.
A Kaurava (addressing a sage)
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
Indirectly: by highlighting guilt and unintended harm, it points to the need for inner discernment (viveka) and purification so the Self is not mistaken for the turbulent doer-mind shaped by circumstance.
This verse itself is confessional and ethical, setting up the need for prāyaścitta (atonement), self-restraint, and inward purification—foundational attitudes that mature into disciplined Yoga (including Shaiva-Pashupata modes of purification taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana).
It does not name Shiva or Vishnu directly; however, the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis frames such moral reflection as a step toward surrender to the one Supreme Lord revered through both Shaiva and Vaishnava idioms.