Dāna-dharma: Types of Charity, Worthy Recipients, Vrata-Timings, and Śiva–Viṣṇu Propitiation
श्रोत्रियाय कुलीनाय विनीताय तपस्विने / वृत्तस्थाय दरिद्राय प्रदेयं भक्तिपूर्वकम्
śrotriyāya kulīnāya vinītāya tapasvine / vṛttasthāya daridrāya pradeyaṃ bhaktipūrvakam
Hendaklah memberi dengan bhakti dan hormat kepada seorang śrotriya yang arif Veda, kepada yang berketurunan mulia dan beradab, kepada yang rendah hati, kepada pertapa, serta kepada orang miskin yang hidup dengan cara yang benar.
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing on dāna-dharma
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Indirectly: by urging devotional, righteous giving, it teaches purification of the mind (citta-śuddhi), which is presented in the Kurma Purana as a key support for realizing the Self beyond ego and possessiveness.
The verse emphasizes karma-yoga in a dharmic form: selfless giving with bhakti. Such disciplined action supports inner purification, a prerequisite repeatedly linked in the Kurma Purana’s Yoga-oriented teaching stream (including Pāśupata-leaning ethics) to steadiness in meditation.
Though not naming Shiva, the teaching reflects the Purana’s synthesis: devotion (bhakti) and ascetic virtue (tapas) are honored as universally dharmic, aligning Vaishnava devotion with Shaiva-ascetic values rather than opposing them.