Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 17
Tīrtha-Māhātmya and the Discipline of Pilgrimage (Tīrtha-sevā) within Prāyaścitta
सर्वेषामपि चैतेषां तीर्थानां परमा पुरी / नाम्नावाराणसी दिव्या कोटिकोट्ययुताधिका
sarveṣāmapi caiteṣāṃ tīrthānāṃ paramā purī / nāmnāvārāṇasī divyā koṭikoṭyayutādhikā
Sa lahat ng mga tīrtha na ito, ang kataas-taasang banal na lungsod ay ang maningning na Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) sa pangalan—ang bisa ng kanyang kabanalan ay humihigit pa sa crores sa crores, at higit pa roon.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing in Purana-style dialogue on tīrtha-mahātmyā
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly: by exalting Kāśī as the supreme tīrtha, the verse points to a locus traditionally associated with liberation (mokṣa), implying that the highest aim is realization beyond mere ritual merit—toward the Self.
No specific technique is named in this verse; it sets a tīrtha context where later Kurma Purana teachings (including Pāśupata-oriented disciplines and inner purification) are understood to bear intensified fruit when coupled with pilgrimage, śraddhā, and disciplined practice.
By praising Vārāṇasī—classically Śiva’s city—within a Vaiṣṇava narration (Lord Kūrma), the verse reflects the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis: sacredness is shared, not sectarian, and both streams converge on mokṣa.