Shloka 21
Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Mahālaya, Kedāra, Rivers and Fords, and Devadāru Forest
Akṣaya-Karma Doctrine
चन्द्रतीर्थमिति ख्यातं कावेर्याः प्रभवे ऽक्षयम् / तीर्थं तत्र भवेद् वस्तुं मृतानां स्वर्गतिर्ध्रुवा
candratīrthamiti khyātaṃ kāveryāḥ prabhave 'kṣayam / tīrthaṃ tatra bhaved vastuṃ mṛtānāṃ svargatirdhruvā
ณ ต้นกำเนิดแม่น้ำกาเวรี มีทีรถะอันไม่เสื่อมชื่อจันทรทีรถะ ผู้ใดละสังขาร ณ ที่นั้น ย่อมมีคติสู่สวรรค์อย่างแน่นอน
Sūta (narrating the tīrtha-māhātmya as taught in the Kurma Purana’s discourse tradition)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it frames liberation-oriented sacred geography by asserting that a tīrtha (Candratīrtha at the Kāverī’s source) confers a dependable auspicious post-death destiny (svarga-gati).
No specific yoga technique is stated; the practice implied is tīrtha-sevā—pilgrimage, reverence, and dharmic observance at a sanctified place—presented as a supportive means toward auspicious gati within the Kurma Purana’s broader soteriological framework (alongside Pāśupata-oriented disciplines elsewhere).
The verse is non-sectarian in wording and focuses on tīrtha power rather than deity identity; in the Kurma Purana’s synthesis, such tīrthas are typically understood as sanctified by the one supreme reality revered through both Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava forms.