Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 78
Prāyaścitta for Theft, Forbidden Foods, Impurity, and Ritual Lapses; Tīrtha–Vrata Remedies; Pativratā Mahātmyam via Sītā and Agni
अनुगम्येच्छया शूद्रं प्रेतीभूतं द्विजोत्तमः / गायत्र्यष्टसहस्रं च जप्यं कुर्यान्नदीषु च
anugamyecchayā śūdraṃ pretībhūtaṃ dvijottamaḥ / gāyatryaṣṭasahasraṃ ca japyaṃ kuryānnadīṣu ca
यदि कोई शूद्र अपनी इच्छा से प्रेत-संबन्ध (अशौच) से युक्त श्रेष्ठ द्विज का अनुगमन करे, तो वह द्विज नदियों में खड़े होकर आठ सहस्र गायत्री-जप करके प्रायश्चित्त करे।
Sūta (narrating traditional dharma and prāyaścitta teachings as transmitted in the Kurma Purana)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse is primarily dharma-śāstric and focuses on ritual impurity and expiation; it implies that purification of conduct and mind (through mantra-japa and tīrtha practice) supports spiritual clarity, but it does not directly define Ātman.
The practice is mantra-yoga in the form of disciplined Gāyatrī-japa, performed with austerity in sacred rivers (nadīṣu), combining japa with tīrtha-based purification as a prāyaścitta.
It does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; the synthesis appears indirectly through the Purana’s broader framework where Vedic mantra-discipline (Gāyatrī) and purificatory observances are treated as universally supportive of devotion and liberation across sectarian lines.