Shloka 42

Prahlada's Tirtha Circuit — Prahlada’s Pilgrimage Circuit: Tirtha-Mahatmya from Naimisha to Rudrakoti and Shalagrama

Devanagari script

सारस्वते ऽम्भसि स्नात्वा स्थाणुं संपूज्य भक्तितः स्नात्वा दसाश्वमेधे च संपूज्य च सुरान् पितृन्

Transliteration

sārasvate 'mbhasi snātvā sthāṇuṃ saṃpūjya bhaktitaḥ snātvā dasāśvamedhe ca saṃpūjya ca surān pitṛn

Translation

সরস্বতীর জলে স্নান করে ভক্তিভরে স্থাণুর পূজা করলেন; তারপর দশাশ্বমেধেও স্নান করে দেবগণ ও পিতৃগণেরও পূজা করলেন।

Speakers

• Narrator continuing Prahlāda’s pilgrimage-rite sequence as an exemplar for pilgrims.

Primary Deities

• Śiva (Sthāṇu)
• Devas (collectively)
• Pitṛs

Key Themes

• Ritual sequence at tīrthas (snāna → pūjā → offerings)
• Integration of deva- and pitṛ-rites within pilgrimage
• Merit-topography (tīrtha named by sacrificial magnitude)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the significance of the tīrtha name ‘Daśāśvamedha’?

Such names encode ‘merit equivalence’: bathing/rituals there are praised as yielding fruit comparable to performing ten aśvamedha sacrifices. The text uses this to rank the site’s potency within the Sarasvatī–Kuru sacred landscape.

Why are both devas and Pitṛs worshipped in a tīrtha itinerary?

Purāṇic dharma frames pilgrimage as comprehensive: it should benefit cosmic order (devas) and lineage continuity (Pitṛs). Hence snāna and pūjā are paired with offerings that ‘satisfy’ both divine and ancestral recipients.

Does this passage imply a Śaiva-only practice?

The immediate focus is Śiva (Sthāṇu), but the structure—snāna, deva-pūjā, pitṛ-tarpana—belongs to shared Purāṇic pilgrimage dharma. In the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geography sections, such Śaiva nodes often appear within broader, non-sectarian tīrtha networks.