Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 42
Dharma of Non-Injury, Non-Stealing, Purity, and Avoidance of Hypocrisy (Ācāra and Saṅkarya-Nivṛtti)
न पापं पापिनां ब्रूयादपापं वा द्विजात्तमाः / सतेनतुल्यदोषः स्यान्मिथ्या द्विर्देषवान् भवेत्
na pāpaṃ pāpināṃ brūyādapāpaṃ vā dvijāttamāḥ / satenatulyadoṣaḥ syānmithyā dvirdeṣavān bhavet
اے دِویجِ برتر! گناہگاروں کے گناہ کا چرچا نہ کرے، اور جو بےگناہ ہو اسے گناہگار بھی نہ کہے۔ ایسا کرنے سے چوری کے برابر عیب لگتا ہے؛ اور اگر جھوٹ ہو تو الزام دوگنا ہو جاتا ہے۔
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing sages on dharma (contextual attribution within Purva-bhaga teachings)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
Indirectly: it teaches satya and restraint in speech as dharmic disciplines that purify the mind (antaḥkaraṇa), which is a prerequisite for clear knowledge of the Self in the Kurma Purana’s broader soteriology.
The verse supports foundational self-restraints—truthfulness and non-injury through speech—functioning like yamas that stabilize the practitioner for higher disciplines described elsewhere in the Kurma Purana, including Pashupata-oriented inner purification.
It does so implicitly through shared dharma: the moral law governing speech is presented as universal, aligning with the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis where the same dharmic order underlies devotion and liberation.