Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे त्रयस्त्रिशो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः माहात्म्यमविमुक्तस्य यथावत् तदुदीरितम् / इदानीं तु प्रयागस्य माहात्म्यं ब्रूहि सुव्रत
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge trayastriśo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ māhātmyamavimuktasya yathāvat tadudīritam / idānīṃ tu prayāgasya māhātmyaṃ brūhi suvrata
इस प्रकार श्रीकूर्मपुराण की षट्साहस्री संहिता के पूर्वभाग में तैंतीसवाँ अध्याय समाप्त हुआ। ऋषियों ने कहा—अविमुक्त का माहात्म्य यथावत् कहा गया। अब, हे सुव्रत! प्रयाग का माहात्म्य बताइए।
The sages (Ṛṣayaḥ)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it frames a tīrtha-focused inquiry, moving from Avimukta (Kāśī) to Prayāga, implying that sacred places support inner purification that culminates in Self-knowledge taught elsewhere in the Purāṇa.
No specific yogic technique is described in this verse; it introduces a shift to Prayāga-māhātmya, where pilgrimage, vows (vrata), and ritual purity function as preparatory disciplines aligned with dharma and spiritual practice.
Indirectly: Avimukta (strongly Śaiva, associated with Kāśī) is honored within the Kūrma Purāṇa (a Vaiṣṇava frame through Lord Kūrma), reflecting the text’s characteristic Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis in valuing both sacred geographies.