Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Tirtha Circuit, Shloka 39

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

Devanagari script

ततस्ते मुनयः प्रीताः सर्व एव महेश्वरम् संपूजयन्तस्तस्थुर्वै तीर्थं कृत्वा पृथक् पृथक् इत्येवं रुद्रकोटीति नाम्ना शंभुरजायत

Transliteration

tataste munayaḥ prītāḥ sarva eva maheśvaram saṃpūjayantastasthurvai tīrthaṃ kṛtvā pṛthak pṛthak ityevaṃ rudrakoṭīti nāmnā śaṃbhurajāyata

Translation

Kemudian semua resi itu bersukacita, berdiri memuja Maheśvara; dan masing-masing, secara terpisah, menetapkan sebuah tīrtha. Maka Śambhu pun dikenal dengan nama ‘Rudrakoṭi’.

Speakers

• Narrator to the addressed sage (muni)
• concluding the etiological naming of the tīrtha and Śiva’s epithet.

Primary Deities

• Śiva (Maheśvara/Śambhu/Rudra)

Key Themes

• Naming of a tīrtha (toponymic etiology)
• Collective worship and consecration
• Śiva’s manifoldness (Rudra-koṭi)
• Pilgrimage practice (tīrtha-karaṇa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Is ‘tīrthaṃ kṛtvā’ describing the creation of a new place or the consecration of an existing spot?

In Purāṇic idiom it can mean consecration: the sages ritually ‘make’ a tīrtha by establishing worship, bathing rules, and memorializing the divine event. The text’s ‘pṛthak pṛthak’ suggests multiple consecrated points, later unified in reputation as Rudrakoṭi.

Why does the name ‘Rudrakoṭi’ apply to Śiva (Śambhu) rather than only to the place?

Tīrtha-māhātmya often links place-name and deity-epithet: the site is sacred because of a specific manifestation, and the manifestation is remembered through the site’s name. Here, Śiva’s ‘crore-formed’ appearance becomes the semantic basis for both deity-title and tīrtha identity.

What is the practical implication for pilgrims implied by this verse?

The verse encodes a ritual memory: worship of Maheśvara at Rudrakoṭi is framed as especially efficacious because it commemorates the moment Śiva compassionately granted darśana to innumerable sages and thereby sanctified multiple tīrtha-points.