Shloka 21
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide
ब्रह्महत्या सुरापानं स्तेयं गुर्वङ्गनागमः / कृत्वा तैश्चापि संसर्गं ब्राह्मणः कामकारतः
brahmahatyā surāpānaṃ steyaṃ gurvaṅganāgamaḥ / kṛtvā taiścāpi saṃsargaṃ brāhmaṇaḥ kāmakārataḥ
കാമവശമായി സ്വേച്ഛയാൽ ഒരു ബ്രാഹ്മണൻ ബ്രഹ്മഹത്യ, സുരാപാനം, മോഷണം, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ഗുരുപത്നീഗമനം ചെയ്താലും—അത്തരം കുറ്റക്കാരുമായി അറിഞ്ഞുകൊണ്ട് കൂട്ടുകൂടിയാലും—അവൻ മഹാപാപത്തിൽ പതിക്കുന്നു.
Kurma Purana narrator (Purāṇic discourse on dharma and prāyaścitta; speaker varies by recension, presented as authoritative śāstric instruction)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
This verse is primarily dharma-śāstra in tone: it does not directly define Ātman, but it implies that desire-driven action (kāma-kārataḥ) veils discernment and leads to heavy karmic bondage, for which purification is required.
No specific meditation is taught here; rather, it sets the ethical floor for spiritual life by condemning mahāpātakas and even “contaminating association” (saṃsarga). Such restraint aligns with yogic yama-niyama and the purity prerequisites emphasized in Kurma Purana’s broader yoga-dharma teaching.
It does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; its contribution to the Purāṇa’s synthesis is indirect—establishing shared dharmic standards (sin, purity, atonement) that undergird both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava paths in the Kurma Purana.