Vamana Purana — Kurukshetra & Prithudaka Tirtha, Shloka 23
Kurukshetra, Pṛthūdaka Tīrtha, and the Marriage of Saṃvaraṇa with Tapatī
देवा ऊचुः को ऽयं कुरुक्षेत्र इति यत्र पुण्यं पृथूदकम् उद्भवं तस्य तीर्थस्य भगवान् प्रब्रवीतु नः
devā ūcuḥ ko 'yaṃ kurukṣetra iti yatra puṇyaṃ pṛthūdakam udbhavaṃ tasya tīrthasya bhagavān prabravītu naḥ
เหล่าเทพทูลว่า—“สถานที่นี้ที่เรียกว่า ‘กุรุเกษตร’ คืออะไร ที่ซึ่งมี ‘ปฤถูทกะ’ อันเป็นบุญ? ขอพระผู้มีภาคทรงตรัสบอกกำเนิดแห่งตีรถะนั้นแก่พวกเรา”
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FAQs
The verse models śāstric inquiry (jijñāsā): sacred places are not treated as mere geography but as carriers of dharma and memory; their ‘origin’ (udbhava) is sought from an authoritative divine source to ground practice in meaning rather than custom alone.
Primarily within Vamśānucarita/Manvantara-style narrative framing (dialogue leading to a tīrtha’s origin story) and secondarily as a Māhātmya passage (glorification and etiology of a holy place), which many Purāṇas embed alongside the five marks.
Kurukṣetra functions as a dharma-kṣetra (field of righteousness). Asking for the udbhava of Pṛthūdaka signals that purifying ‘water’ is not only physical but also a symbol of transmitted sacred history—purity grounded in revelation and remembrance.