Shloka 54

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

Devanagari script

तावर्च्य देवप्रवरौ प्रजगाम महालयम् तत्र रुद्रं समभ्यर्च्य प्रजगामोत्तरान् कुरून्

Transliteration

tāvarcya devapravarau prajagāma mahālayam tatra rudraṃ samabhyarcya prajagāmottarān kurūn

Translation

সেই দুই শ্রেষ্ঠ দেবকে পূজা করে তিনি মহালয়ে গেলেন; সেখানে রুদ্রকে যথাবিধি অর্চনা করে উত্তর কুরুদের দিকে অগ্রসর হলেন।

Speakers

• Narratorial voice describing the pilgrim’s route and ritual sequence.

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Rudra)
• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Pilgrimage itinerary and sequencing of worship
• Supremacy/primacy language for deities (deva-pravara)
• Transition from local tirtha to cosmic geography (Uttara-Kuru)
• Ritual propriety (samabhyarcana)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Who are ‘the two foremost gods’ (deva-pravarau) in this context?

Given the immediately preceding identification of Śaṅkara/Kapardin and Viṣṇu in Soma’s restoration, the phrase most naturally points to Śiva and Viṣṇu as the paired ‘foremost’ deities worshipped before moving on.

What is Mahālaya—an abstract ‘great abode’ or a specific place?

In tirtha catalogues, such terms often function as proper toponyms. Here Mahālaya is best read as a named sacred station on the itinerary, where Rudra is specifically worshipped, indicating a localized shrine or kṣetra rather than a mere epithet.

Is Uttara-Kuru a real geographic destination or a mythic region?

Uttara-Kuru is primarily a Purāṇic cosmographic region—an idealized northern land beyond ordinary human travel in many accounts. Its mention signals the text’s characteristic blending of terrestrial pilgrimage geography with broader cosmic mapping.