Shloka 17
Tīrtha-Māhātmya and the Discipline of Pilgrimage (Tīrtha-sevā) within Prāyaścitta
सर्वेषामपि चैतेषां तीर्थानां परमा पुरी / नाम्नावाराणसी दिव्या कोटिकोट्ययुताधिका
sarveṣāmapi caiteṣāṃ tīrthānāṃ paramā purī / nāmnāvārāṇasī divyā koṭikoṭyayutādhikā
ഈ എല്ലാ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിലെയും പരമ ദിവ്യപുരി ‘വാരാണസി’ (കാശി) എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധമാണ്. അതിന്റെ പുണ്യഫലം കോടി-കോടികളെയും അതിക്രമിക്കുന്നു.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing in Purana-style dialogue on tīrtha-mahātmyā
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: by exalting Kāśī as the supreme tīrtha, the verse points to a locus traditionally associated with liberation (mokṣa), implying that the highest aim is realization beyond mere ritual merit—toward the Self.
No specific technique is named in this verse; it sets a tīrtha context where later Kurma Purana teachings (including Pāśupata-oriented disciplines and inner purification) are understood to bear intensified fruit when coupled with pilgrimage, śraddhā, and disciplined practice.
By praising Vārāṇasī—classically Śiva’s city—within a Vaiṣṇava narration (Lord Kūrma), the verse reflects the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis: sacredness is shared, not sectarian, and both streams converge on mokṣa.