Vamana Purana — Karmic Causes of Narakas, Shloka 46
Karmic Causes of Narakas and the Irremediability of Ingratitude (Kṛtaghna-doṣa)
नदीषु गङ्गा जलजेषु पद्मं सुरारिमुख्येषु हराङ्घ्रिभक्तः क्षेत्रेषु यद्वत्कुरुजङ्गलं वरं तीर्थेषु यद्वत् प्रवरं पृथूदकम् // वम्प्_12.45 सरस्सु चैवोत्तरमानसं यथा वनेषु पुण्येषु हि नन्दनं यथा लोकेषु यद्वत्सदनं विरिञ्चेः सत्यं यथा धर्मविधिक्रियासु
nadīṣu gaṅgā jalajeṣu padmaṃ surārimukhyeṣu harāṅghribhaktaḥ kṣetreṣu yadvatkurujaṅgalaṃ varaṃ tīrtheṣu yadvat pravaraṃ pṛthūdakam // VamP_12.45 sarassu caivottaramānasaṃ yathā vaneṣu puṇyeṣu hi nandanaṃ yathā lokeṣu yadvatsadanaṃ viriñceḥ satyaṃ yathā dharmavidhikriyāsu
河川の中ではガンガー（Gaṅgā）が最上であり、水に生ずるものの中では蓮華が最上である。神々の敵の首領たちの中でも、ハラ（Hara＝シヴァ）の御足に帰依する भक्तは卓越する。聖域（クシェートラ）の中ではクルジャーンガラ（Kurujāṅgala）が勝れ、ティールタの中ではプṛトゥーダカ（Pṛthūdaka）が最勝である。湖の中ではウッタラマーナサ（Uttaramānasa）が第一であり、聖なる林の中ではナンダナ（Nandana）が第一である。諸世界の中ではヴィリンチ（Viriñci＝梵天）の住処が最上であり、ダルマに則って行われる儀礼においては「真実」が最上である——同様に、讃えられる対象もまた最勝であると理解される。
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Pilgrimage and sacred-place valuation are not merely geographic: the culminating comparison—‘Truth in dharmic rites’—asserts that satya is the highest purifier within religious practice. The tīrtha catalogue thus points beyond place to conduct: the fruit of tīrtha is stabilized by truthfulness and right performance (dharma-vidhi).
Best classified under didactic material supporting Manvantara/cosmology through sacred geography (kṣetra/tīrtha listings) and dharma instruction. It is not a direct sarga/pratisarga account, but belongs to the Purāṇic function of mapping the sacred world and prescribing value-hierarchies for practice.
The ‘best-of’ chain sacralizes Kurujāṅgala and Pṛthūdaka by placing them in a universal hierarchy (rivers→tīrthas→worlds→virtues). The inclusion of ‘Hara’s-foot devotee’ among asura-chiefs hints at Purāṇic complexity: even adversarial lineages can be ennobled by bhakti to Śiva, reinforcing the text’s non-sectarian ethos where devotion (to Hara) is honored within a broader dhārmic and tīrtha framework.