Prāyaścitta for Theft, Forbidden Foods, Impurity, and Ritual Lapses; Tīrtha–Vrata Remedies; Pativratā Mahātmyam via Sītā and Agni
प्राजापत्येन शुद्ध्येत ब्राहामणोच्छिष्टभोजने / क्षत्रिये तप्तकृच्छ्रं स्याद् वैश्ये चैवातिकृच्छ्रकम् / शूद्रोच्छिष्टं द्विजो भुक्त्वा कुर्याच्चान्द्रायणव्रतम्
prājāpatyena śuddhyeta brāhāmaṇocchiṣṭabhojane / kṣatriye taptakṛcchraṃ syād vaiśye caivātikṛcchrakam / śūdrocchiṣṭaṃ dvijo bhuktvā kuryāccāndrāyaṇavratam
ब्राह्मण का जूठा भोजन खाने पर प्राजापत्य व्रत से शुद्धि होती है। क्षत्रिय का जूठा खाने पर तप्तकृच्छ्र और वैश्य का जूठा खाने पर अतिकृच्छ्र व्रत करना चाहिए। शूद्र का जूठा खाने पर द्विज को चान्द्रायण व्रत करना चाहिए।
Traditional narrator (Sūta) conveying dharma/prāyaścitta instructions as preserved in the Kūrma Purāṇa
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
This verse is not teaching ātma-tattva directly; it lays out prāyaścitta (expiation) within varṇāśrama-dharma, emphasizing that inner and outer purity (śauca) supports spiritual life in which realization of the Self becomes steady.
No specific meditation technique is taught here; the practices are vow-based disciplines (vrata) like Cāndrāyaṇa and forms of kṛcchra penance, which function as niyama-like restraints—ethical purification that traditionally prepares the practitioner for mantra, worship, and yoga.
It does not explicitly mention Śiva–Viṣṇu unity; instead it reflects the Kūrma Purāṇa’s broader synthesis by presenting dharma and purification vows as foundational disciplines that can support both Śaiva (e.g., Pāśupata) and Vaiṣṇava devotional-yogic paths.