Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 13
Tīrtha-māhātmya and Rudra’s Samanvaya Teaching
Maṅkaṇaka Episode
एष्टव्या बहवः पुत्राः शीलवन्तो गुणान्विताः / तेषां तु समवेतानां यद्येको ऽपि गयां व्रजेत्
eṣṭavyā bahavaḥ putrāḥ śīlavanto guṇānvitāḥ / teṣāṃ tu samavetānāṃ yadyeko 'pi gayāṃ vrajet
多くの息子を望むべきである——品行正しく、徳を備えた者たちを。彼らが集う中で、たとえ一人でもガヤー（Gayā）へ赴けば、そこでの儀礼によって一族の祖先の願いは成就する。
Traditional Purāṇic narrator (instructional voice within the Kurma Purana’s dharma discourse; commonly framed through Sūta’s narration to sages)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
This verse is primarily dharma-oriented, emphasizing filial duty and pitṛ-rites rather than explicit ātman metaphysics; it implies that spiritual merit is supported through ordained actions (karma) within varṇāśrama, which in the Kurma Purana ultimately prepares the mind for higher knowledge taught elsewhere (e.g., the Ishvara Gita).
No direct yogic technique is taught in this verse; instead it highlights tīrtha-yātrā and śrāddha as dharmic disciplines. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis, such disciplined observances are treated as purificatory supports that can complement later yogic instruction (including Pāśupata-oriented themes in other sections).
The verse does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; it reflects the Purāṇic integrated dharma framework where pilgrimage and ancestral rites are upheld as sacred duties, compatible with both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava devotional worlds that the Kurma Purana harmonizes across its larger narrative.