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Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 20

Viṣṇu at Upamanyu’s Āśrama: Pāśupata Tapas, Darśana of Śiva, and Boons from Devī

उपस्पृश्याथ भावेन तीर्थे तीर्थे स यादवः / चकार देवकीसूनुर्देवर्षिपितृतर्पणम्

upaspṛśyātha bhāvena tīrthe tīrthe sa yādavaḥ / cakāra devakīsūnurdevarṣipitṛtarpaṇam

پھر اس یادو نے ہر تیرتھ پر بھکتی بھاو سے آچمن کر کے شُدھی پائی، اور دیوکی کے پتر نے دیوتاؤں، رشیوں اور پِتروں کا ترپن کیا۔

upaspṛśyahaving performed ablution/touched (water)
upaspṛśya:
Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
TypeVerb
Rootupa + spṛś (उप+स्पृश् धातु)
FormAbsolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा/ल्यप्), ‘having touched/abluted’
athathen
atha:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootatha (अव्यय)
FormParticle (अनन्तरबोधक अव्यय)
bhāvenawith devotion/feeling
bhāvena:
Karaṇa (करण)
TypeNoun
Rootbhāva (भाव प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (तृतीया/3), Singular (एकवचन)
tīrtheat a sacred ford
tīrthe:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Roottīrtha (तीर्थ प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन)
tīrtheat (every) sacred place
tīrthe:
Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Roottīrtha (तीर्थ प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (सप्तमी/7), Singular (एकवचन); repetition: ‘at each tīrtha’
saḥhe
saḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Roottad (तद् प्रातिपदिक)
FormSarvanāma (सर्वनाम), Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)
yādavaḥthe Yādava (Kṛṣṇa)
yādavaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootyādava (यादव प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)
cakāradid/performed
cakāra:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootkṛ (कृ धातु)
FormLiṭ-lakāra (लिट्/Perfect), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), Prathama-puruṣa (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)
devakī-sūnuḥson of Devakī
devakī-sūnuḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootdevakī + sūnu (देवकी + सूनु प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa ‘devakyāḥ sūnuḥ’, Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन)
devarṣi-pitṛ-tarpaṇamoffering of satisfaction to gods, seers, and ancestors
devarṣi-pitṛ-tarpaṇam:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootdeva + ṛṣi + pitṛ + tarpaṇa (देव + ऋषि + पितृ + तर्पण प्रातिपदिक)
FormSamāhāra-dvandva (समाहार-द्वन्द्व) in sense ‘tarpaṇam for devas, ṛṣis, and pitṛs’, Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

Purāṇic narrator (Sūta/authorial narration)

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

D
Devakīsūnu (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)
Y
Yādava
D
Devas
Ṛṣis
P
Pitṛs
T
Tīrtha

FAQs

Indirectly: it highlights that outer rites (ācamana, tīrtha observance, tarpaṇa) become spiritually efficacious when performed with bhāva—an inward, sattvic orientation that aligns the practitioner toward the Self beyond mere ritualism.

A preparatory discipline: śauca (purity), saṅkalpa with bhāva (right inner attitude), and dharmic observance at tīrthas—supporting steadiness of mind (citta-śuddhi), which the Kurma Purana later connects to higher yogic realization.

By presenting Devakī’s son as upholding Vedic-purāṇic dharma through tarpaṇa and tīrtha practice, it reflects the Kurma Purana’s integrative ethos where Vaiṣṇava figures exemplify the same sacramental order honored in Śaiva traditions as well.