Śrāddha-Kāla-Nirṇaya: Proper Times, Nakṣatra Fruits, Tīrtha Merit, and Offerings for Ancestral Rites
वराहपर्वते चैव गङ्गायां वै विशेषतः / वाराणस्यां विशेषेण यत्र देवः स्वयं हरः
varāhaparvate caiva gaṅgāyāṃ vai viśeṣataḥ / vārāṇasyāṃ viśeṣeṇa yatra devaḥ svayaṃ haraḥ
Dan di Gunung Varāha, serta khususnya di Sungai Gaṅgā—terutama sekali di Vārāṇasī—tempat Dewa Hara (Śiva) sendiri bersemayam secara nyata.
Sūta (narrator) conveying the Kurma Purana’s tirtha-mahātmya context
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Indirectly, by emphasizing a tirtha where Śiva is said to be present “in person,” the verse points to the Purāṇic idea that the supreme reality can be approached through manifest sacred presence (sākṣāt-sannidhi) that awakens inner recognition.
This verse itself stresses tīrtha-sannidhi (dwelling/visiting sacred places) as a support for purification; in Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva-Yoga frame, such purification is a preparatory aid for japa, dhyāna, and Pāśupata-oriented discipline.
Within the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, praising Śiva’s supreme sanctity at Kāśī inside a Vaiṣṇava-linked Purāṇa reinforces non-sectarian reverence—Śiva’s presence is honored as fully authoritative without negating Viṣṇu’s supremacy elsewhere.