Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 4
Rules of Food, Acceptance, and Purity for the Twice-Born
Dvija-Śauca and Anna-Doṣa
राजान्नं नर्तकान्नं च तक्ष्णो ऽन्नं चर्मकारिणः / गणान्नं गणिकान्नं च षण्ढान्नं चैव वर्जयेत्
rājānnaṃ nartakānnaṃ ca takṣṇo 'nnaṃ carmakāriṇaḥ / gaṇānnaṃ gaṇikānnaṃ ca ṣaṇḍhānnaṃ caiva varjayet
രാജാവിന്റെ അന്നം, നർത്തകന്റെ അന്നം, തച്ചന്റെ അന്നം, ചർമ്മകാരന്റെ അന്നം; അതുപോലെ ഗണങ്ങളുടെ (ക്ഷേത്രസേവകരുടെ) അന്നം, ഗണികയുടെ അന്നം, ഷണ്ഢന്റെ അന്നം—ഇവയെല്ലാം വర్జിക്കണം.
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing sages on dharma (dietary purity as a support for sādhana)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
Indirectly: it teaches āhāra-śuddhi (purity of intake) as a dharmic support for sattva and mental clarity, which are prerequisites for steady contemplation of the Self (ātma-jñāna) in later, more explicitly yogic teachings.
The verse highlights preparatory discipline rather than a technique: regulating one’s sources of food to preserve ritual and psychological purity, a common foundation for japa, dhyāna, and Pāśupata-oriented sādhana emphasized elsewhere in the Kūrma Purāṇa.
By presenting dharma and purity-observances as universal supports for spiritual practice, it aligns with the Purāṇa’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis: the same ethical and purificatory foundations are upheld for devotion and yoga directed to Īśvara, whether articulated through Vishnu (Kūrma) or Shiva-centered disciplines.