Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 4
Yamunā–Gaṅgā Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Agni-tīrtha, Anaraka, Prayāga, and the Tapovana of Jāhnavī
अग्नितीर्थमिति ख्यातं यमुनादक्षिण तटे / पश्चिमे धर्मराजस्य तीर्थं त्वनरकं स्मृतम् / तत्र स्नात्वा दिवं यान्ति ये मृतास्ते ऽपुनर्भवाः
agnitīrthamiti khyātaṃ yamunādakṣiṇa taṭe / paścime dharmarājasya tīrthaṃ tvanarakaṃ smṛtam / tatra snātvā divaṃ yānti ye mṛtāste 'punarbhavāḥ
Trên bờ nam sông Yamunā có bến thánh nổi danh là Agni-tīrtha. Về phía tây của đó là thánh địa của Dharmarāja, được nhớ đến với tên Anaraka (“nơi không có địa ngục”). Ai tắm gội tại đó, dẫu sau ấy có mệnh chung, cũng lên cõi trời và không còn trở lại luân hồi.
Narrator (Purana narrator in the tirtha-mahatmya section; tradition attributes the teaching within the Kurma Purana’s dialogue framework)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
Indirectly, through the idea of “apunarbhava” (non-return): liberation is portrayed as freedom from repeated embodiment. The verse frames tīrtha-bathing as a dharmic means that can culminate in release from saṃsāra, aligning with the Purana’s broader teaching that right action, purity, and devotion support realization and final freedom.
No formal yogic technique is prescribed; the practice is tīrtha-snāna (ritual bathing) as a discipline of purification (śauca) and dharma. In Kurma Purana’s wider spiritual framework—often linked by readers to Pāśupata-oriented devotion and inner purity—external purification supports inner steadiness and God-oriented living.
This specific verse is primarily a geography-and-merit (tīrtha-phala) statement and does not explicitly mention Śiva or Viṣṇu. However, the Kurma Purana’s overall Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis treats sacred places, dharma, and liberation as ultimately grounded in the one Supreme reality revered through multiple divine forms.