Shloka 5

Sacred Abodes of Vishnu & Shiva — Catalogue of Vishnu and Shiva’s Sacred Abodes (Tirtha-Mahatmya within the Pulastya–Narada Frame)

Devanagari script

रूपधारमिरावत्यां कुरुक्षेत्रे कुरुध्वजम् कृतशौचे नृसिंहं च गोकर्णे विश्वकर्मिणम्

Transliteration

rūpadhāramirāvatyāṃ kurukṣetre kurudhvajam kṛtaśauce nṛsiṃhaṃ ca gokarṇe viśvakarmiṇam

Translation

(The Lord is to be known/worshipped) as Rūpadhāra on the Irāvatī; as Kurudhvaj(a) in Kurukṣetra; as Nṛsiṃha at Kṛtaśauca; and as Viśvakarman at Gokarṇa.

Speakers

• Likely the narrator (traditionally Pulastya) instructing Nārada in a tirtha-catalogue context (chapter-level setting).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Narasimha
• Shiva
• Vishvakarman

Key Themes

• Tirtha Yatra (pilgrimage mapping)
• Kṣetra-adhidevatā (presiding deity of a place)
• Multiplicity of divine epithets across geography
• Shaiva-Vaishnava co-presence in sacred landscape

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse list different divine names tied to different places?

This is a characteristic Purāṇic “kṣetra-devatā” mapping: the same supreme sacred power is recognized through localized epithets and iconographic forms at specific tirthas, making geography itself a theological index.

Is Viśvakarman here the artisan-god or a form of Śiva/Viṣṇu?

In tirtha-catalogues, such names often function as the presiding deity-title of the site. While Viśvakarman is classically the divine architect, the verse’s structure treats him as the adhidevatā at Gokarṇa, a Śaiva tirtha—indicating functional identification within the sacred landscape rather than strict sectarian separation.

What is the significance of Kurukṣetra being included in this list?

Kurukṣetra is a paradigmatic dharma-kṣetra. Its inclusion anchors the catalogue in pan-Indian pilgrimage memory, linking local epithets (Kurudhvaj) to a universally recognized sacred region.