Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 78
Prāyaścitta for Theft, Forbidden Foods, Impurity, and Ritual Lapses; Tīrtha–Vrata Remedies; Pativratā Mahātmyam via Sītā and Agni
अनुगम्येच्छया शूद्रं प्रेतीभूतं द्विजोत्तमः / गायत्र्यष्टसहस्रं च जप्यं कुर्यान्नदीषु च
anugamyecchayā śūdraṃ pretībhūtaṃ dvijottamaḥ / gāyatryaṣṭasahasraṃ ca japyaṃ kuryānnadīṣu ca
जर एखादा शूद्र स्वेच्छेने प्रेतसंबंधी अशौचयुक्त श्रेष्ठ द्विजाचा अनुगमन करील, तर त्या द्विजाने नद्यांत उभे राहून गायत्रीचे आठ सहस्र जप करून प्रायश्चित्त करावे।
Sūta (narrating traditional dharma and prāyaścitta teachings as transmitted in the Kurma Purana)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse is primarily dharma-śāstric and focuses on ritual impurity and expiation; it implies that purification of conduct and mind (through mantra-japa and tīrtha practice) supports spiritual clarity, but it does not directly define Ātman.
The practice is mantra-yoga in the form of disciplined Gāyatrī-japa, performed with austerity in sacred rivers (nadīṣu), combining japa with tīrtha-based purification as a prāyaścitta.
It does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; the synthesis appears indirectly through the Purana’s broader framework where Vedic mantra-discipline (Gāyatrī) and purificatory observances are treated as universally supportive of devotion and liberation across sectarian lines.