Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 35
Śrāddha-Kāla-Nirṇaya: Proper Times, Nakṣatra Fruits, Tīrtha Merit, and Offerings for Ancestral Rites
नर्मदायां कुशावर्ते श्रीशैले भद्रकर्णके / वेत्रवत्यां विपाशायां गोदावर्यां विशेषतः
narmadāyāṃ kuśāvarte śrīśaile bhadrakarṇake / vetravatyāṃ vipāśāyāṃ godāvaryāṃ viśeṣataḥ
ನರ್ಮದೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಶಾವರ್ತದಲ್ಲಿ, ಶ್ರೀಶೈಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಭದ್ರಕರ್ಣಕದಲ್ಲಿ, ವೇತ್ರವತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ವಿಪಾಶೆಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಮತ್ತು ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಗೋದಾವರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ—ಈ ಪವಿತ್ರ ಜಲಸ್ಥಳಗಳನ್ನು ಭಕ್ತಿಯಿಂದ ಗೌರವಿಸಬೇಕು।
Suta (narrator) recounting the tirtha-listing taught by the sages within the Kurma Purana’s discourse framework
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is primarily a tirtha-list (sacred geography) and does not directly define Ātman; it supports the Purāṇic view that sacred places and rivers can purify the mind, making it fit for Self-knowledge taught elsewhere in the text.
No specific āsana or meditation technique is stated; the implied discipline is tīrtha-sevā—pilgrimage, ritual bathing, and worship at sanctified rivers and kṣetras as preparatory purification aligned with dharma and later yogic instruction.
By honoring pan-Indic tīrthas such as Śrīśaila (strongly Śaiva) alongside major rivers revered across Vaiṣṇava traditions, the verse reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative sacred map, consistent with its Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis.