Vamana Purana — Sacred Abodes of Vishnu & Shiva, Shloka 33

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

Devanagari script

विश्वामित्रं च गदितं कैलासे वृषभध्वजम् महेशं महिलाशैले कामरूपे शशिप्रभम्

Transliteration

viśvāmitraṃ ca gaditaṃ kailāse vṛṣabhadhvajam maheśaṃ mahilāśaile kāmarūpe śaśiprabham

Translation

কৈলাসে তিনি ‘বিশ্বামিত্র’ বলে কথিত; মহিলাশৈলে ‘বৃষভধ্বজ’ (বৃষচিহ্নধ্বজধারী); আর কামরূপে চন্দ্রপ্রভ ‘মহেশ’ (শশিপ্রভ)।

Speakers

• Narratorial/compendial voice within the tīrtha-catalogue (speaker not specified in the excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Shiva (Maheśa)

Key Themes

• Localization of Śiva through epithets
• Mountain sacredness (śaila-kṣetra)
• Regional tīrtha identity
• Śiva’s lunar symbolism

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Does “Viśvāmitra on Kailāsa” refer to the sage Viśvāmitra?

In this verse it functions as a nāma of a Śiva manifestation tied to Kailāsa. Purāṇic catalogues often reuse well-known names as epithets for localized forms; without additional narrative markers, it is best read here as a Śiva-name rather than the ṛṣi.

Why emphasize “Vṛṣabhadhvaja” at Mahilāśaila?

The bull-banner epithet foregrounds Śiva’s iconography (Nandin and the bull emblem). Assigning it to a specific mountain anchors that iconographic identity to a pilgrimage landscape, making the site recognizable through a signature name.

What does “Śaśiprabha” add to the identification of Maheśa in Kāmarūpa?

It highlights Śiva’s lunar association (moon on the matted hair), suggesting a particular mode of worship or visual conception at that kṣetra—Maheśa as radiantly moon-like—thereby distinguishing the Kāmarūpa manifestation from others.