Shloka 53
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide
धृतकुम्भं वराहं च तिलद्रोणं च तित्तिरिम् / शुकं द्विहायनं वत्सं क्रौञ्चं हत्वा त्रिहायनम्
dhṛtakumbhaṃ varāhaṃ ca tiladroṇaṃ ca tittirim / śukaṃ dvihāyanaṃ vatsaṃ krauñcaṃ hatvā trihāyanam
ధృతకుంభ పక్షి, వరాహం, తిలద్రోణ పక్షి, తిత్తిరి, శుకం, రెండేళ్ల దూడ, మూడేళ్ల క్రౌంచం—ఇవన్నీ వధించినవాడు శాస్త్రోక్త ప్రాయశ్చిత్తానికి పాత్రుడు అవుతాడు।
Sūta (narrator) relaying the Kurma Purana’s dharma-teachings of expiation
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
This verse is not an Ātman-metaphysics passage; it is a dharma/prāyaścitta listing. Its implied spiritual basis is that violence (hiṃsā) produces karmic bondage, which must be purified through prescribed expiation to restore inner and social order.
No direct yoga practice is taught in this line; it belongs to the prāyaścitta framework. Indirectly, it supports yogic purity (śauca) by regulating conduct and prescribing purification after harm, which is foundational for higher practices like Pāśupata Yoga discussed elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.
The verse itself is ethically prescriptive rather than sectarian. In the Kurma Purana’s broader Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such dharma rules are presented as universally binding—supporting devotion and purification whether one follows Śiva-oriented Pāśupata discipline or Viṣṇu-oriented bhakti.