Narmadā-tīrtha-māhātmya — Bhṛgu-tīrtha to Sāgara-saṅgama
Pilgrimage Circuit, Gifts, Fasting, and Imperishable Merit
तत्र स्नात्वा नरो राजन् नर्मदोदधिसंगमे / त्रिगुणं चाश्वमेधस्य फलं प्राप्नोति मानवः
tatra snātvā naro rājan narmadodadhisaṃgame / triguṇaṃ cāśvamedhasya phalaṃ prāpnoti mānavaḥ
ఓ రాజా, నర్మదా–సముద్ర సంగమంలో స్నానం చేసిన మనిషి అశ్వమేధ యజ్ఞఫలానికి మూడింతల ఫలాన్ని పొందుతాడు.
Sūta (narrator) conveying the tīrtha-māhātmya within the Kurma Purana discourse to the listening sages
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it teaches dharma through tīrtha-snāna, implying that sacred action (karma aligned with śāstra) purifies the practitioner and supports higher realization taught elsewhere in the Purāṇa.
The practice highlighted is tīrtha-snāna (ritual bathing) as a purificatory discipline; in the Kurma Purana’s broader soteriology, such purification is preparatory (śuddhi) for japa, dhyāna, and the yogic paths discussed in later doctrinal sections.
The verse is a tīrtha-merit statement and does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; within the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis, such tīrtha observances are presented as universally efficacious supports to devotion and liberation across sectarian forms.