Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 14
Aśauca-vidhi — Rules of Birth/Death Impurity, Sapinda Circles, and Śrāddha Sequence
जातमात्रस्य बालस्य यदि स्यान्मरणं पितुः / मातुश्च सूतकं तत् स्यात् पिता स्यात् स्पृश्य एव च
jātamātrasya bālasya yadi syānmaraṇaṃ pituḥ / mātuśca sūtakaṃ tat syāt pitā syāt spṛśya eva ca
శిశువు పుట్టిన వెంటనే తండ్రి మరణిస్తే తల్లికి సూతకము (జననాశౌచము) కలుగును; గృహసంబంధంగా తండ్రి కూడా స్పృశ్యము, అనగా స్పర్శాశుద్ధుడని భావించబడును.
Traditional narrator (Purana discourse voice) presenting dharma-vidhi on sūtaka; framed within the Kurma Purana’s instruction lineage
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse is primarily a dharma-vidhi on ritual impurity (sūtaka/āśauca) rather than a direct teaching on Ātman; it reflects the Purana’s view that social-ritual order supports a life oriented toward dharma and eventual spiritual realization.
No specific yoga practice is taught in this line; instead, it sets ritual boundaries (sūtaka and sparśa restrictions) that traditionally safeguard discipline (niyama) and eligibility for rites, which the Kurma Purana elsewhere links to higher sādhanā, including Pāśupata-oriented devotion and contemplation.
It does not explicitly address Shiva–Vishnu unity; it belongs to the Purana’s dharma section on purity rules, which functions as a shared Vaidika framework across Shaiva and Vaishnava practice in the Kurma Purana.