Agni Purana — Bhuvanakosha & Tirtha-mahatmya, Shloka 21
Chapter 109 — Tīrtha-mahātmya
The Glory of Sacred Pilgrimage Places
लौहित्यं करतोयाख्यं शोणञ्चाथर्षभं परं श्रीपर्वतं कोल्वगिरिं सह्याद्रिर्मलयो गिरिः
lauhityaṃ karatoyākhyaṃ śoṇañcātharṣabhaṃ paraṃ śrīparvataṃ kolvagiriṃ sahyādrirmalayo giriḥ
Lauhitya ; le fleuve nommé Karatoyā ; et aussi le Śoṇa ; puis le mont suprême Ṛṣabha ; Śrīparvata ; Kolvagiri ; le Sahyādri ; et le mont Malaya.
Lord Agni (narrating to Sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Cosmology","secondary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","practical_application":"Pilgrimage planning and sacred-geography orientation: identifying rivers and mountains regarded as tīrtha-adjacent or meritorious for yātrā, snāna, and darśana.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Sacred Rivers and Mountains (Lauhitya–Malaya)","lookup_keywords":["Lauhitya","Karatoya","Shona","Sahyadri","Malaya"],"quick_summary":"A catalog of major rivers and mountain ranges treated as sacred landmarks. Useful as a tīrtha index for mapping yātrā routes and prioritizing holy landscapes."}
Concept: Tīrtha as a dharmic purifier embedded in bhūgola (sacred geography).
Application: Cultivating reverence for natural sacred sites; undertaking snāna/darśana with tīrtha-buddhi (seeing landscape as sanctifying).
Khanda Section: Tirtha-Mahatmya / Bhugola (Sacred Geography: Rivers and Mountains)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: River/Mountain
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A panoramic sacred map-like vista: great rivers flowing from distant mountains; named peaks (Sahyādri, Malaya) rising with forests and hermitages; pilgrims pointing to landmarks.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, wide landscape band with stylized blue rivers labeled Lauhitya, Karatoyā, Śoṇa; green Sahyādri and Malaya ranges with small āśramas, sages in ochre, flat decorative clouds, earthy reds and greens.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gilded highlights on mountain ridgelines and riverbanks, central sacred mountain with small shrine, pilgrims in traditional attire, rich jewel tones, gold leaf ornamentation framing the geography.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting style, instructional cartographic composition: rivers as flowing ribbons with Sanskrit labels, mountains in layered perspective, fine linework, muted palette, emphasis on clarity and annotation.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, detailed topographic landscape with meandering rivers, rocky hills, tiny figures of travelers and ascetics, delicate flora, calligraphic labels for Lauhitya, Śoṇa, Sahyādri, Malaya."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: शोणञ्चाथ = शोणम् + च + अथ; सह्याद्रिर्मलयो = सह्याद्रिः + मलयः (visarga sandhi). करतोयाख्यं = करतोय-आख्यम्.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 109 (Tīrtha-yātrā māhātmya context); Agni Purana 110 (Gaṅgā-māhātmya begins next)
FAQs
This verse transmits Bhūgola/Tīrtha-vidyā: an enumerative catalogue of major sacred rivers and mountains used for pilgrimage mapping and traditional geographical memory.
By preserving standardized toponyms (river and mountain names) across regions—Lauhitya, Karatoyā, Śoṇa, Sahyādri, Malaya—this chapter functions like a gazetteer, showing the Agni Purana’s compendium-style coverage beyond theology into cultural geography.
Remembering and venerating renowned tīrthas and sacred mountains is traditionally held to generate puṇya (religious merit) and supports the intention to undertake pilgrimage, a purificatory act in Purāṇic practice.