Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 35
Jambūdvīpa Varṣas, Bhārata as Karmabhūmi, and the Sacred Hydro-Topography of Dharma
सोदावरी भीमरथी कृष्णा वर्णा च मत्सरी / तुङ्गभ्द्रा सुप्रयोगा कावेरी च द्विजोत्तमाः / दक्षिणापथगा नद्यः सह्यपादविनिः सृताः
sodāvarī bhīmarathī kṛṣṇā varṇā ca matsarī / tuṅgabhdrā suprayogā kāverī ca dvijottamāḥ / dakṣiṇāpathagā nadyaḥ sahyapādaviniḥ sṛtāḥ
噢，最胜二生者啊，戈达瓦丽（Godāvarī）、毗摩罗提（Bhīmarathī）、克里希纳（Kṛṣṇā）、瓦尔纳（Varṇā）、玛特萨丽（Matsarī）、通伽跋陀罗（Tuṅgabhadrā）、苏普拉约伽（Suprayogā）与迦维丽（Kāverī）诸河，皆行于南方道（Dakṣiṇāpatha），自萨希亚山（Sahya）山麓涌出。
Narrator (Purāṇic teacher continuing the tirtha–nadī catalogue; traditionally Sūta/authoritative narrator addressing sages)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
This verse is primarily geographical and tīrtha-oriented; it does not directly define Ātman. Indirectly, by sanctifying rivers as purifying flows arising from a sacred mountain, it supports the Purāṇic view that the same divine reality pervades places, waters, and beings, making tīrtha-sevā a preparatory aid for inner realization.
No explicit yogic technique is taught in this śloka. In the Kurma Purāṇa’s wider discipline, such river-catalogues function as tīrtha-smaraṇa and tīrtha-yātrā prompts—supportive practices for śauca (purification), vrata, japa, and devotion that mature into the higher teachings later associated with Pāśupata-oriented and Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava synthesis.
The verse itself does not mention Śiva or Viṣṇu. Its tīrtha framework aligns with the Kurma Purāṇa’s integrative stance: sacred geography is shared devotional ground where Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava worship, vows, and purifications co-exist, preparing the seeker for the text’s broader non-sectarian theology.