Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Tirtha Circuit, Shloka 55

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

Devanagari script

पद्मनाभं स तत्रर्च्य सप्तगोदावरं ययौ तत्र स्नात्वार्ऽच्य विश्वेशं भीमं त्रैलोक्यवन्दितम्

Transliteration

padmanābhaṃ sa tatrarcya saptagodāvaraṃ yayau tatra snātvār'cya viśveśaṃ bhīmaṃ trailokyavanditam

Translation

{"scene_description": "A time-lapse allegory: seasons and years circling around the unchanged rākṣasa, showing the monotony of sin; a wheel of time (kāla-cakra) encircles him.", "primary_figures": ["rākṣasa", "personified Kāla (symbolic)"], "setting": "Forest clearing under rotating sky bands (day/night, seasons) to show centuries passing.", "color_palette": ["dusky blue", "sepia", "dark olive", "pale gray"], "tanjore_prompt": "Tanjore style, central figure static while ornate circular kāla-cakra with gold leaf surrounds; small seasonal motifs (sun, moon, monsoon clouds) in medallions; devotional framing despite moral subject.", "pahari_prompt": "Pahari miniature, poetic depiction of passing seasons around a solitary figure; soft gradients, delicate clouds, understated moral melancholy.", "kerala_mural_prompt": "Kerala mural, stylized time-wheel with bold outlines; repeated motifs of sun/moon; rākṣasa unmoved at center, earthy pigments.", "pattachitra_prompt": "Pattachitra scroll, concentric rings of time with repeating patterns; narrative caption indicating 'varṣaśatāni'; flat decorative rhythm emphasizing repetition."}

Word by Word

:

:

:

:

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic narrator) describing a pilgrim’s itinerary (speaker not explicit in the given excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Padmanabha)
• Shiva (Vishvesha/Bhima)

Key Themes

• Tirtha Yatra (pilgrimage sequence)
• Snana (ritual bathing)
• Shaiva–Vaishnava unity (worship of Vishnu then Shiva)
• Lingarcana (liṅga worship)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse place Padmanābha worship immediately before Śiva-worship at Saptagodāvara?

This is a characteristic Purāṇic pilgrimage pattern: the yātrā is not sectarian but integrative. The pilgrim honors Viṣṇu (Padmanābha) and then proceeds to a Śaiva tirtha (Viśveśa/Bhīma), presenting tīrtha-travel as a harmonizing practice across major deities.

What is ‘Saptagodāvara’ in geographical terms?

The compound suggests a Godāvarī sacred zone marked by ‘seven’—commonly interpreted as seven streams/branches, seven confluences, or seven stations of merit along the river. The text treats it as a named tirtha destination where snāna and liṅga-arcana are central.

Who is ‘Bhīma’ here—an epithet or a specific shrine?

Both readings are possible in Purāṇic usage. Grammatically it qualifies the deity as ‘mighty/terrible,’ but in many tirtha-catalogues ‘Bhīma’ also functions as a proper name for a particular liṅga revered as ‘worshipped by the three worlds.’