Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 41
Avimukta-Māhātmya — Vyāsa in Vārāṇasī and Śiva’s Secret Teaching of Liberation
न दानैर्न तपोभिश्च न यज्ञैर्नापि विद्यया / प्राप्यते गतिरुत्कृष्टा याविमुक्ते तु लभ्यते
na dānairna tapobhiśca na yajñairnāpi vidyayā / prāpyate gatirutkṛṣṭā yāvimukte tu labhyate
คติอันประเสริฐมิได้บรรลุด้วยทาน มิได้ด้วยตบะ มิได้ด้วยยัญพิธี และมิได้ด้วยความรู้เพียงอย่างเดียว หากได้มาโดยวิมุกติ—ความหลุดพ้น—เท่านั้น
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing the sages (Kurma Purana discourse context)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
By declaring liberation (vimukti) as the “highest destiny,” the verse implies that the ultimate reality is realized by freedom from bondage (saṃsāra), not by accumulating merit through external acts; the highest goal is inward realization culminating in release.
The verse de-emphasizes merit-producing actions (dāna, tapas, yajña) and mere scholarship, pointing instead to mokṣa-oriented sādhanā—disciplined Yoga leading to detachment, purification of consciousness, and liberating knowledge as framed in Kurma Purana’s Yoga-shāstra and Pāśupata-leaning ideals.
In Kurma Purana’s synthetic theology, the supreme goal is liberation itself—beyond sectarian markers—so the teaching supports a non-competitive Shaiva–Vaishnava outlook: whichever form of Īśvara is worshiped, the culmination is the same vimukti.