Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 19
Dharma of Non-Injury, Non-Stealing, Purity, and Avoidance of Hypocrisy (Ācāra and Saṅkarya-Nivṛtti)
गोभिश्च दैवतैर्विप्रैः कृष्या राजोपसेवया / कुलान्यकुलतां यान्ति यानि हीनानि धर्मतः
gobhiśca daivatairvipraiḥ kṛṣyā rājopasevayā / kulānyakulatāṃ yānti yāni hīnāni dharmataḥ
गोपालन, देव-सेवा (यज्ञादि), ब्राह्मण-संग, कृषि और राज-सेवा के कारण, जो कुल धर्म से हीन हैं वे भी अपनी प्रतिष्ठा खोकर ‘अकुल’ (लोक-निन्दित) अवस्था को प्राप्त होते हैं।
Narratorial puranic voice (instructional discourse on varnashrama-dharma within the Kurma Purana)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames dharma as the necessary outer discipline that stabilizes society and the individual, which in the Kurma Purana supports inner purification needed for Self-knowledge.
No explicit meditation is taught in this verse; it emphasizes ethical and occupational purity (dharma-shuddhi) as preparatory ground that, in the Kurma Purana’s broader yoga framework, precedes higher yogic practice such as Pashupata-oriented restraint and devotion.
It does not mention Shiva or Vishnu directly; it reflects the Purana’s integrative stance by prioritizing dharma as a shared foundation for both Shaiva and Vaishnava paths leading toward liberation.