Shloka 19
Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage
मार्कण्डेय उवाच कथयिष्यामि ते वत्स या चेष्टा यच्च तत्फलम् / पुरा महर्षिभिः सम्यक् कथ्यमानं मया श्रुतम्
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca kathayiṣyāmi te vatsa yā ceṣṭā yacca tatphalam / purā maharṣibhiḥ samyak kathyamānaṃ mayā śrutam
മാർക്കണ്ഡേയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—വത്സാ, ഏതു വിധത്തിലുള്ള ആചരണ-ചേഷ്ട സ്വീകരിക്കണം, അതിന്റെ ഫലം എന്തെന്നതും ഞാൻ നിന്നോട് പറയും; പുരാതനകാലത്ത് മഹർഷികൾ സമ്യകമായി വ്യാഖ്യാനിച്ചതായി ഞാൻ ശ്രവിച്ചതുപോലെ.
Markandeya
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not define Ātman directly; it establishes the authoritative teaching lineage (heard from maharṣis) and frames the coming instruction on right conduct and its results—foundational for later self-knowledge and liberation teachings in the Purāṇa.
No specific yoga technique is named here; the verse introduces a structured exposition of ceṣṭā (disciplined practice/conduct) and tat-phala (its fruits), a common Purāṇic framework that later accommodates vows, devotion, and yogic discipline (including Shaiva-Vaishnava syntheses such as Pāśupata-oriented practice in related sections).
It does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu explicitly; instead, it foregrounds a shared Vedic-Purāṇic pedagogy—truth transmitted by great seers—within which the Kurma Purana often presents harmonizing (non-sectarian) teachings in later contexts.