Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 11
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide
चरेद् वा वत्सरं कृच्छ्रं ब्रह्मचर्यपरायणः / ब्राह्मणः स्वर्णहारी तु तत्पापस्यापनुत्तये
cared vā vatsaraṃ kṛcchraṃ brahmacaryaparāyaṇaḥ / brāhmaṇaḥ svarṇahārī tu tatpāpasyāpanuttaye
O kaya naman, ang Brāhmaṇa na nagnakaw ng ginto, na nakatuon sa brahmacarya, ay dapat magsagawa ng Kṛcchra na penitensiya sa loob ng isang buong taon upang maalis ang kasalanang iyon.
Sūta (narrating the Kurma Purana’s dharma-teachings as received from the sages)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
This verse does not directly teach ātman-metaphysics; it frames ethical purification: by disciplined brahmacarya and prescribed prāyaścitta, the doer’s impurity (pāpa) is attenuated, preparing the mind for higher knowledge taught elsewhere (e.g., the Ishvara Gītā in the Upari-bhāga).
Not a meditative yoga technique, but a yogic restraint: brahmacarya (sense-control) combined with the Kṛcchra austerity. In the Kurma Purana’s broader spiritual program, such restraints function as śuddhi (purification) supporting later contemplative disciplines, including Pāśupata-oriented practices described in other sections.
It does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu; it reflects the Purana’s shared dharma framework—moral order and purification—within which the text later integrates Śaiva-Vaiṣṇava synthesis (notably in the Ishvara Gītā and related teachings).