The Glory of Varanasi'- - Verse 8
Kurma Purana (GRETIL / Internet Archive OCR) · 31 · Verse 8
Sanskrit Original
त्रिनेत्रा नीलकण्ठा च शशाङ्काङ्कितमूर्धजा। वृषाधिरूढा पुरुषैस्तादृशैरेव संवृता।।
trinetrā nīlakaṇṭhā ca śaśāṅkāṅkitamūrdhajā| vṛṣādhirūḍhā puruṣaistādṛśaireva saṃvṛtā||
Some persons praise meditation. Others extol only Dharma (piety), some other people praise Sarhkhya as well as Yoga, while other great sages emphasize penance. Certainly other great sages speak in praise about Brahmacarya (celibacy). Others speak highly of non-violence and yet others extol re¬ nunciation. Some praise mercifulness, charitable gifts and study of the Vedas. Others speak highly of pilgrimage to holy places place of Dharma-cakra-pravartana by Gautama Buddha, it is sacred both to Jainas and Buddhists. It was the capital of the kingdom of Kasis— probably the same Aryan tribe mentioned as Kasrites in Central Asian inscriptions. The Kasis are mentioned in the Br. XIII. 5.4.21. The town is called Varanasi as it is situated between two ‘rivers’ Varana (mod. Barna) and Asi (rirfe V. 63 below). Being a highly sacred place, it has been eulogised and described in details in various Puranas such as the Mt. P. Chs. 180-185, NP. II. Chs. 48-51, Pd. P.I. Chs. 33-37, SK. P. IV (Kasi Khanda) and others. The KP. has devoted five chapters (Chs. 31-35) for describing the glory of Varanasi. *v.l. dharman veda-nidarSitan ‘‘religious duties ordained in the Vedas.”