Shloka 1
Narmadā–Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Sequence of Sacred Fords and Their Fruits
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायामुपरिविभागे अष्टात्रिशो ऽध्यायः मार्कण्डेय उवाच नर्मदा सरितां श्रेष्ठा सर्वपापविनाशिनी / मुनिभिः कथिता पूर्वमीश्वरेण स्वयंभुवा
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāmuparivibhāge aṣṭātriśo 'dhyāyaḥ mārkaṇḍeya uvāca narmadā saritāṃ śreṣṭhā sarvapāpavināśinī / munibhiḥ kathitā pūrvamīśvareṇa svayaṃbhuvā
ശ്രീകൂർമപുരാണത്തിലെ ഷട്സാഹസ്ത്രീ സംഹിതയുടെ ഉത്തരവിഭാഗത്തിൽ അഷ്ടാത്രിംശ അധ്യായം. മാർക്കണ്ഡേയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—നർമദാ നദികളിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ, സർവ്വപാപവിനാശിനി; പുരാതനകാലം മുതൽ മുനിമാർ കീര്ത്തിച്ചതും സ്വയംഭൂ ഈശ്വരൻ തന്നെയും സ്തുതിച്ചതുമാകുന്നു।
Markandeya
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames purification and dharmic authority through “Īśvara” and “Svayambhū,” implying a cosmic order where sacred means (like tīrthas) operate under the Lord’s governance; it does not explicitly define Ātman here.
No specific yogic technique is taught in this verse; it emphasizes śuddhi (purification) through tīrtha—an allied discipline supporting sādhana, often paired in the Purāṇa with vows, restraint, japa, and devotion that mature into yogic steadiness.
It does so implicitly through Purāṇic synthesis: sacred geography and sin-destruction are upheld as Īśvara’s ordinance without sectarian exclusivity—typical of the Kūrma Purāṇa’s Shaiva-Vaishnava harmonizing tone, even though Śiva/Vişṇu are not named in this line.