Shloka 44

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

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वार्ऽच्य च पितृन् सोमं संपूज्य भक्तिततः क्षीरिकावासमभ्येत्य स्नानं चक्रे महायशाः

Transliteration

tatra snātvār'cya ca pitṛn somaṃ saṃpūjya bhaktitataḥ kṣīrikāvāsamabhyetya snānaṃ cakre mahāyaśāḥ

Translation

সেখানে স্নান করে তিনি পিতৃদের অর্চনা করলেন এবং ভক্তিভরে সোমের পূজা করলেন; মহাযশস্বী ব্যক্তি পরে ক্ষীরিকাবাসে গিয়ে পুনরায় স্নান-ক্Vamana Purana

Speakers

• Narratorial voice continuing the itinerary description within the Saromahatmya.

Primary Deities

• Soma (Chandra)
• Pitrs (ancestral deities/collective)

Key Themes

• Pitṛ-tarpaṇa / ancestral rites at tirthas
• Devotional worship (bhakti)
• Pilgrimage as sequential purification (multiple snānas)
• Tirtha network mapping (place-to-place movement)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Pitṛ rites performed specifically at Soma-tīrtha?

Soma is closely linked with nourishment, the lunar cycle, and the Pitṛ-world in many Purāṇic and Smṛti frameworks. A Soma-associated tirtha is therefore an especially fitting locus for pitṛ-arcana/tarpaṇa, integrating cosmic symbolism (Moon) with ancestral obligation (ṛṇa to Pitṛs).

What is the function of repeated bathing (snāna) across successive sites?

Each tirtha is treated as a distinct ‘ritual field’ with its own merit (puṇya). Bathing at each station is not redundant; it is the formal act that ‘activates’ the tirtha’s promised fruit and marks transition from one sacred micro-region to the next.

How should we understand ‘Kṣīrikā-vāsa’ in the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geographic style?

Names like Kṣīrikā-vāsa typically preserve local cult-memory—either a goddess/river-personification (Kṣīrikā) or a site famed for milk-like waters/offerings (kṣīra). The Purāṇa’s method is to sacralize such localities by embedding them in an authoritative pilgrimage itinerary.