Shloka 20
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide
एभिर्व्रतैरपोहन्ति महापातकिनो मलम् / पुण्यतीर्थाभिगमनात् पृथिव्यां वाथ निष्कृतिः
ebhirvratairapohanti mahāpātakino malam / puṇyatīrthābhigamanāt pṛthivyāṃ vātha niṣkṛtiḥ
ด้วยวรตะเหล่านี้ แม้ผู้กระทำมหาบาปก็ยังขจัดมลทินได้ อีกทั้งการไปนมัสการตถาคตแห่งท่าข้ามศักดิ์สิทธิ์ (ตีรถะ) บนแผ่นดิน ก็ย่อมบังเกิดนิษกฤติ คือการไถ่บาปเช่นกัน
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing on dharma and prāyaścitta
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
Indirectly: it frames sin as a removable “stain” (mala) and emphasizes purification through disciplined dharma; this supports the Purāṇic-Yogic view that the Self is intrinsically pure while impurities are adventitious and can be cleansed by right practice.
The verse stresses vrata (regulated discipline) and tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) as purificatory auxiliaries—outer disciplines that support inner Yoga by reducing mala (impurity), preparing the practitioner for steadier devotion, japa, and contemplative practice taught elsewhere in the Kurma tradition.
By presenting purification through vratas and sacred tīrthas—often shared across Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava landscapes—it reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative dharma: one purificatory order serving devotion to the single supreme reality revered as Hari-Hara.