Shloka 29

Sacred Abodes of Vishnu & Shiva — Catalogue of Vishnu and Shiva’s Sacred Abodes (Tirtha-Mahatmya within the Pulastya–Narada Frame)

Devanagari script

त्रिकूटशिखरे ब्रह्मन् चक्रपाणिनमीश्वरम् लौहदण्डे हृषीकेशं कोसलायां मनोहरम्

Transliteration

trikūṭaśikhare brahman cakrapāṇinamīśvaram lauhadaṇḍe hṛṣīkeśaṃ kosalāyāṃ manoharam

Translation

“O Brahmin, upon the peak of Trikūṭa (is) the Lord, the Sovereign bearing the discus. At Lauhadaṇḍa (is) Hṛṣīkeśa; and in Kosalā (is) the charming (form of the Lord).”

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher addressing a Brahmin interlocutor (contextual vocative ‘brahman’ within a tirtha-catalog discourse)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Hari/Narayana)

Key Themes

• Sacred geography as theology (deity mapped onto landscape)
• Murti-sthana enumeration (regional icon-forms of Vishnu)
• Pilgrimage orientation (where to worship which form)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What is the function of listing ‘Cakrapāṇi on Trikūṭa’ and ‘Hṛṣīkeśa at Lauhadaṇḍa’ in this chapter?

This is a cartographic-theological register: the text anchors specific epithets/forms of Vishnu to named places, guiding pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā) and local worship by identifying which manifestation is traditionally revered at each site.

Does ‘Trikūṭa’ here necessarily mean the Lanka-associated Trikūṭa of the Rāmāyaṇa?

Not necessarily. ‘Trikūṭa’ is a recurring toponym in Purāṇic geography for a ‘three-peaked’ mountain; without additional qualifiers in the immediate passage, it is safest to treat it as a named sacred peak within the chapter’s regional itinerary rather than force a single epic identification.

Why is Kosalā mentioned without a specific epithet like Cakrapāṇi/Hṛṣīkeśa?

The verse supplies ‘manohara’ as the descriptor, implying a locally celebrated ‘charming’ form of Hari in Kosala. Such brief descriptors often reflect a well-known local icon or shrine tradition assumed familiar to the intended audience.