Shloka 28
Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Mahālaya, Kedāra, Rivers and Fords, and Devadāru Forest
Akṣaya-Karma Doctrine
पितॄणां दुहिता देवी गन्धकालीति विश्रुता / तस्यां स्नात्वा दिवं याति मृतो जातिस्मरो भवेत्
pitṝṇāṃ duhitā devī gandhakālīti viśrutā / tasyāṃ snātvā divaṃ yāti mṛto jātismaro bhavet
पितरों की पुत्री वह देवी ‘गन्धकाली’ नाम से विख्यात है। उसके पवित्र जल में स्नान करने से मनुष्य स्वर्ग को प्राप्त होता है; और मृत भी (उसकी कृपा से) पूर्वजन्म-स्मरण वाला हो सकता है।
Sūta (narrator) recounting the tīrtha-mahātmya within the Kurma Purana’s pilgrimage discourse
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: it emphasizes purification and karmic uplift through tīrtha-snāna, implying that spiritual clarity (which culminates in Self-knowledge) is supported by dharmic acts that cleanse impediments (mala) and refine memory and awareness.
The verse foregrounds tīrtha-snāna as a purificatory limb supportive of sādhana—preparing the practitioner for higher disciplines like japa, dhyāna, and Pāśupata-oriented inner purification taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.
While not naming them, it reflects the Purana’s integrative dharma: Devī-tīrtha veneration and ancestral rites function within a wider framework where Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava paths share purification, merit, and liberation-oriented aims.