Shloka 26
Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Mahālaya, Kedāra, Rivers and Fords, and Devadāru Forest
Akṣaya-Karma Doctrine
तीर्थेभ्यः परमं तीर्थं ब्रह्मतीर्थमिति श्रुतम् / ब्रह्माणमर्चयित्वा तु ब्रह्मलोके महीयते
tīrthebhyaḥ paramaṃ tīrthaṃ brahmatīrthamiti śrutam / brahmāṇamarcayitvā tu brahmaloke mahīyate
તીર્થોમાં પરમ તીર્થ ‘બ્રહ્મતીર્થ’ કહેવાય છે. ત્યાં બ્રહ્માની અર્ચના કરીને મનુષ્ય બ્રહ્મલોકમાં મહિમાવંત અને સન્માનિત થાય છે.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing in a tīrtha-māhātmya context
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It does so indirectly: by ranking Brahma-tīrtha as “supreme,” the verse points to the Vedic principle that sacred geography is ultimately a support for realizing higher truth; the fruit described is Brahma-loka (a graded spiritual attainment), implying a hierarchy of spiritual results culminating beyond worlds in Self-knowledge.
The practice emphasized is devotional discipline (arcana) performed at a consecrated tīrtha—an outer aid that supports inner purification (citta-śuddhi). In Kurma Purana’s broader teaching, such tīrtha-based worship complements yogic restraint and contemplation by strengthening śraddhā and dharma.
Though Brahmā is named, the verse reflects the Purana’s synthetic outlook: Vishnu (as Kurma) teaches reverence for other deities and their sacred seats, presenting worship as harmonized rather than sectarian—consistent with the text’s Shaiva–Vaishnava accommodation.