Shloka 23

Devanagari script

शीतांजनः कुरुंगश्च कुररो माल्यवांस्तथा । चैकैकप्रमुखा मेरोः पूर्वतः केसराचलाः

Transliteration

śītāṃjanaḥ kuruṃgaśca kuraro mālyavāṃstathā | caikaikapramukhā meroḥ pūrvataḥ kesarācalāḥ

Translation

To the east of Mount Meru lie the Kesarācalas, mane-like subsidiary ranges, each with its own chief peak—Śītāṃjana, Kuruṅga, Kurara, and Mālyavān.

Word by Word

• śītāṃjanaḥ: (mountain named) Śītāñjana
• śītāṃjanaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śītāñjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—शीतम् + अञ्जनम् (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-निर्णयः: शीतं अञ्जनं यस्य सः)

• kuruṃgaḥ: (mountain named) Kuruṅga
• kuruṃgaḥ: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuruṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• kuraraḥ: (mountain named) Kurara
• kuraraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kurara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mālyavān: (mountain named) Mālyavān
• mālyavān: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mālyavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; -वत् प्रत्ययान्त (possessive)

• tathā: likewise/also
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: ‘thus/also’)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• eka-eka-pramukhāḥ: each having one as chief / one-by-one foremost
• eka-eka-pramukhāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + eka (प्रातिपदिक) + pramukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—एकैक (अव्ययीभाव/द्वन्द्व-प्रायः ‘one by one’) + प्रमुख (तत्पुरुष: ‘having each as chief/foremost’)

• meroḥ: of Meru
• meroḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: meru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• pūrvataḥ: on the eastern side
• pūrvataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvatas (अव्यय)
• Form: दिक्कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘to the east/from the east side’)

• kesarācalāḥ: the Kesarācalas (Kesar mountains)
• kesarācalāḥ: Karta (कर्ता/उद्देश्य-निर्देशः)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kesara (प्रातिपदिक) + acala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—केसर + अचल (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष: ‘Kesar-mountains’)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Jyotirlinga Context

Sthala Purana: Listing of Meru’s eastern Kesarācala ranges (Śītāṃjana, Kuruṅga, Kurara, Mālyavān) is cosmographic; it provides the ‘sacred topography’ backdrop often used in Purāṇas to situate divine acts, but no Jyotirliṅga episode is invoked here.

Significance: Supports tīrtha-buddhi (sacred-place awareness): mountains as stable ‘axis-supports’ for dharma and as archetypes for earthly kṣetras where Śiva is worshipped.

Characters & Entities

• Mount Meru
• Kesarachala
• Shitangjana
• Kurunga
• Kurara
• Malyavan

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

By mapping the sacred world around Meru, the Purana frames creation as an ordered, dharma-sustained cosmos under Pati (Śiva), encouraging the devotee to view pilgrimage, direction, and sacred space as supports for inner orientation toward liberation.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

Though the verse is geographic, Uma-saṃhitā uses such cosmology to situate holy regions where Saguna worship (temples, liṅga-pūjā, tīrthas) is practiced; sacred space becomes a practical aid for devotion while ultimately pointing to Śiva as the transcendent ground of the cosmos.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

A simple takeaway is dik-smaraṇa (directional remembrance): begin liṅga-pūjā or japa of “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” by mentally honoring the directions and visualizing the ordered universe, then turning attention inward to Śiva as the indwelling Self.