Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 77
Śrāddha-vidhi for Pitṛs: Invitations, Purity, Offerings, and Conduct
प्रक्षाल्य हस्तावाचम्य ज्ञातीन् शेषेण तोषयेत् / ज्ञातिष्वपि चतुष्टेषु स्वान् भृत्यान् भोजयोत् ततः / पश्चात् स्वयं च पत्नीभिः शेषमन्नं समाचरेत्
prakṣālya hastāvācamya jñātīn śeṣeṇa toṣayet / jñātiṣvapi catuṣṭeṣu svān bhṛtyān bhojayot tataḥ / paścāt svayaṃ ca patnībhiḥ śeṣamannaṃ samācaret
ہاتھ دھو کر اور آچمن کر کے، باقی بچے ہوئے اَنّ سے اپنے رشتہ داروں کو سیر کرے۔ چاروں قسم کے قرابت داروں کی خدمت کے بعد، اپنے زیرِکفالت لوگوں اور خادموں کو کھانا کھلائے۔ آخر میں بیویوں کے ساتھ خود بھی ترتیب سے باقی اَنّ تناول کرے۔
Sūta (narrating traditional dharma instructions as received from the sages)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
This verse is primarily dharma-practical rather than metaphysical: it teaches disciplined conduct, purity, and ordered responsibility—qualities that, in the Purāṇic framework, purify the mind (citta-śuddhi) and thereby support realization of the Self taught elsewhere in the Kurma Purana.
The verse highlights ritual discipline (ācamana, cleanliness, and regulated consumption). In the Kurma Purana’s broader soteriological logic, such niyama-like restraints stabilize the practitioner, making the mind fit for higher practices (dhyāna and devotion) described in more explicitly yogic sections.
It does not directly discuss Shiva–Vishnu unity; instead, it expresses shared Purāṇic dharma common to both Shaiva and Vaishnava streams—ethical order, purity, and duty—forming the practical base upon which the Kurma Purana later articulates synthesis-oriented theology.