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The Rite of the Śāntivrata: A Yearlong Observance with Viṣṇu-on-Śeṣa and Nāga-Anganyāsa Worship
शङ्खपालाय वक्त्रं तु कुटिलायेति वै शिरः । एवं विष्णुगतं पूज्य पृथक्त्वेन च पूजयेत् ॥ ६०.५ ॥
śaṅkhapālāya vaktraṃ tu kuṭilāyeti vai śiraḥ | evaṃ viṣṇugataṃ pūjya pṛthaktvena ca pūjayet || 60.5 ||
मुँह को शंखपाल कहते हुए पूजो, सिर को कुटिल कहते हुए पूजो। ऐसे विष्णु के शरीर के हिसाब से पूजा करो, हर हिस्सा अलग-अलग नाम से।
Varāha (default speaker per dialogue framework; not explicit in fragment)
It reflects Purāṇic-era ritual systematization in which body-parts of a deity’s form are mapped to named aspects or attendant figures, a feature shared with broader South Asian liturgical and iconographic traditions.
No geographic location is named in this verse; it is primarily a ritual-instruction passage rather than a sacred-geography reference.
The verse emphasizes disciplined, orderly practice: worship is to be performed with careful differentiation of aspects (pṛthaktvena), indicating attention, precision, and respect for ritual taxonomy.
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