Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 16
Prayāga–Gaṅgā Tīrtha-māhātmya and Rules of Pilgrimage
Yātrā-vidhi
न ते जीवन्ति लोके ऽस्मिन् यत्र तत्र युधिष्ठिर / ये प्रयागं न संप्राप्तास्त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुतम्
na te jīvanti loke 'smin yatra tatra yudhiṣṭhira / ye prayāgaṃ na saṃprāptāstriṣu lokeṣu viśrutam
ਹੇ ਯੁਧਿਸ਼ਠਿਰ, ਉਹ ਜਿੱਥੇ ਕਿਤੇ ਵੀ ਵੱਸਦੇ ਹੋਣ, ਪਰ ਜੋ ਤਿੰਨਾਂ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਪ੍ਰਸਿੱਧ ਪ੍ਰਯਾਗ ਨਹੀਂ ਪਹੁੰਚੇ—ਉਹ ਇਸ ਲੋਕ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਾਨੋ ਜੀਉਂਦੇ ਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ।
Vyasa (narrator/teacher) addressing King Yudhiṣṭhira
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames “true living” as life oriented to dharma and purification; visiting a famed tīrtha like Prayāga symbolizes turning the mind from mere survival toward the higher aim that culminates in Self-knowledge.
The verse highlights tīrtha-sevā as a preparatory discipline—pilgrimage, bathing, vows, and restraint—supporting inner purification (citta-śuddhi) that later matures into meditation and yoga taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.
By praising Prayāga (a pan-sectarian tīrtha revered across traditions), it reflects the Purana’s synthetic spirit: sacred geography functions as a shared dharmic ground where Shaiva and Vaishnava devotion converge in purification and liberation-oriented practice.