Shloka 29
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide
सखिभार्यां समारुह्य गत्वा श्यालीं तथैव च / अहोरात्रोषितो भूत्वा तप्तकृच्छ्रं समाचरेत्
sakhibhāryāṃ samāruhya gatvā śyālīṃ tathaiva ca / ahorātroṣito bhūtvā taptakṛcchraṃ samācaret
സുഹൃത്തിന്റെ ഭാര്യയെയോ ഭാര്യാസഹോദരിയെയോ പ്രാപിച്ചാൽ, ഒരു രാപ്പകൽ ഉപവാസമനുഷ്ഠിച്ച് തപ്തകൃച്ഛ്രം എന്ന പ്രായശ്ചിത്തം ചെയ്യേണ്ടതാണ്.
Sūta (narrator) recounting Vyāsa’s dharma-teaching on prāyaścitta to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
This verse is primarily dharmic and juridical rather than metaphysical: it treats wrongdoing as a moral impurity that must be purified through prāyaścitta, implying that inner clarity conducive to realizing the Self is protected by ethical restraint and disciplined atonement.
The practice highlighted is a vrata-based austerity (Taptakṛcchra), a tapas-oriented discipline used as expiation. In the Kurma Purana’s broader spiritual frame, such tapas supports self-control (saṃyama) and purification (śuddhi), which are foundational supports for mantra, japa, and higher yogic concentration.
This specific verse does not directly discuss Shiva–Vishnu unity; it reflects shared purāṇic dharma where ethical order and expiation are upheld across Shaiva-Vaishnava traditions, forming the moral groundwork on which later syntheses (including Ishvara-centered devotion and yoga) are taught.