Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 16
Daily Duties of Brāhmaṇas: Snāna, Sandhyā, Sūrya-hṛdaya, Japa, Tarpaṇa, and the Pañca-mahāyajñas
आत्मतीर्थमिति ख्यातं सेवितं ब्रह्मवादिभिः / मनः शुचिकरं पुंसां नित्यं तत् स्नानमाचरेत्
ātmatīrthamiti khyātaṃ sevitaṃ brahmavādibhiḥ / manaḥ śucikaraṃ puṃsāṃ nityaṃ tat snānamācaret
हे ‘आत्मतीर्थ’ म्हणून प्रसिद्ध असून ब्रह्मवाद्यांनी सेविलेले आहे. हे मन शुद्ध करते; म्हणून ते अंतःस्नान नित्य आचरावे.
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing King Indradyumna (didactic discourse on dharma and inner purification)
Primary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By calling the Self an ‘ātma-tīrtha,’ the verse presents Atman as the highest sacred refuge: true sanctity is accessed inwardly through Self-oriented purification rather than merely external travel.
The verse emphasizes nitya-abhyāsa (daily practice) of inner ‘snāna’—mental cleansing through discipline, contemplation, and inner purity (antahkaraṇa-śuddhi), a foundational prerequisite for Yoga and liberating knowledge.
Though Vishnu speaks as Kūrma, the focus on Brahman-knowers and inner purification aligns with the Purana’s Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis: the highest tīrtha is realization of the one Supreme (Brahman/Ishvara) beyond sectarian division.