Vamana Purana — Sacred Abodes of Vishnu & Shiva, Shloka 13

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

Devanagari script

अवनतिविषये विष्णुं निषधेष्वमरेश्वरम् पाञ्चालिकं च ब्रह्मर्षे पाञ्चालेषु व्यवस्थितम्

Transliteration

avanativiṣaye viṣṇuṃ niṣadheṣvamareśvaram pāñcālikaṃ ca brahmarṣe pāñcāleṣu vyavasthitam

Translation

{"has_teaching": true, "teaching_type": "dharma", "core_concept": "Tirtha-sevā and snāna as purificatory dharma; reconciliation of divine powers through sacred presence.", "teaching_summary": "Approaching Keśava and bathing at Sitodaka brings pacification; even Rudra is appeased there, implying that sacred places aligned with the Supreme harmonize conflicting forces and cleanse sin-driven agitation.", "vedantic_theme": "Īśvara as the ultimate purifier; sacred geography as a support for inner purification leading to peace (upaśama).", "practical_application": "Undertake pilgrimage with humility; combine external snāna with internal cleansing (truthfulness, restraint) to attain upaśānti; avoid sectarian antagonism by honoring Hari and Rudra as cooperating in dharma."}

Word by Word

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Speakers

• Contextual narrator within the Adhyāya’s catalogue addressing a ‘brahmarṣi’ (the listener is explicitly addressed as brahmarṣi).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Regionalization of worship (deities as janapada-pālas)
• Śaiva–Vaiṣṇava co-presence in a single itinerary
• Pilgrimage cartography of North/Central India

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

How can the same catalogue place both Viṣṇu and Amareśvara (a Śiva-title) in adjacent lines?

Such lists are intentionally ecumenical: the Purāṇa maps a shared sacred landscape where Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva sites coexist, encouraging comprehensive tīrtha-yātrā rather than sectarian exclusivity.

What is ‘Niṣadha’ here—people, region, or mountain?

In Purāṇic usage, Niṣadha can denote a janapada/people and also a cosmographic mountain. The locative plural ‘niṣadheṣu’ favors a territorial/people sense (‘in the Niṣadha lands’), though the tradition often allows overlap between ethnographic and topographic referents.

Who is ‘Pāñcālika’?

It is best read as a regional shrine-epithet—‘the (deity) of the Pāñcālas’—indicating a locally established form worshipped in Pāñcāla country, parallel to how other verses tie specific divine names to specific ranges or districts.