Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Tirtha Circuit, Shloka 35

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

Devanagari script

नैमिषेया द्विजवरा मागधेयाः ससैन्धवाः धर्मारण्याः पौष्करेया दण्डकारण्यकास्तथा

Transliteration

naimiṣeyā dvijavarā māgadheyāḥ sasaindhavāḥ dharmāraṇyāḥ pauṣkareyā daṇḍakāraṇyakāstathā

Translation

नैमिष के, मागध के (और) सिन्धु-प्रदेश के, धर्मारण्य के, पुष्कर के तथा दण्डकारण्य के—ऐसे श्रेष्ठ द्विज (ब्राह्मण) वहाँ आए।

Speakers

• Narratorial listing of pilgrim groups converging on the Sarasvatī tīrtha complex.

Primary Deities

• Śiva (implied by the surrounding Koṭitīrtha/Rudrakoṭi context)

Key Themes

• Pan-Indian pilgrimage networks
• Authority of tīrthas validated by multi-regional attendance
• Brāhmaṇa communities and ritual travel

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the text enumerate pilgrims from distant regions?

Māhātmya passages often establish a tīrtha’s supra-regional prestige by showing that renowned sacred centers and peoples (Naimiṣa, Puṣkara, etc.) recognize its sanctity and travel there.

Are these names strictly ‘castes’ or ‘places’?

They function primarily as place-based identifiers (gentilics): ‘Naimiṣeyas’ = those connected with Naimiṣāraṇya, ‘Pauṣkareyas’ = those from Puṣkara, etc., though they also imply learned ritual communities associated with those locales.

What is “Dharmāraṇya” here?

Dharmāraṇya is presented as a recognized sacred forest/region. In Purāṇic geography, such names can denote a specific tīrtha-zone known to tradition, even when modern identification is debated; its inclusion signals established sanctity comparable to Puṣkara or Naimiṣa.