Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 28
Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage
पञ्च कुण्डानि राजेन्द्र येषां मध्ये तु जाह्नवी / प्रयागं विशतः पुंसः पापं नश्यति तत्क्षणात्
pañca kuṇḍāni rājendra yeṣāṃ madhye tu jāhnavī / prayāgaṃ viśataḥ puṃsaḥ pāpaṃ naśyati tatkṣaṇāt
ఓ రాజేంద్రా! అక్కడ ఐదు కుండాలు ఉన్నాయి; వాటి మధ్యగా జాహ్నవి (గంగా) ప్రవహిస్తుంది. ప్రయాగంలో ప్రవేశించిన మనిషి పాపం ఆ క్షణమే నశిస్తుంది।
Suta (narrator) conveying the tirtha-mahatmya discourse to the sages (Kurma Purana narrative frame)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: it presents rapid purification through sacred space (tirtha), which in the Purana framework supports inner clarity and fitness for Self-knowledge; the verse itself focuses on removal of pāpa rather than defining Ātman.
No specific āsana or dhyāna is named; the practice implied is tirtha-sevā—approaching Prayāga with श्रद्धा (faith) and purity—which is treated as a preparatory purifier that complements later disciplines like Pāśupata-oriented restraint, japa, and meditation.
It does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; the synthesis appears through the shared sanctity of tirthas in the Kurma Purana, where pilgrimage and purification function across sectarian boundaries as a common dharmic means.