Varaha Purana 151.41: Adhyaya 151, Shloka 41
The Sacred Greatness of Lohārgala
The ‘Iron-Bolt’ Tīrtha
Pūrva Bhāga · Tīrtha-Māhātmya (Pañcaśikhā/Pañcacūḍa: Approach and Death-in-Discipline Motif)
स तत्र गच्छेद्वै भूमे यत्र पञ्चशिखो मुनिः ॥ अथात्र मुञ्चते प्राणान्मम भक्तो जितेन्द्रियः
sa tatra gacched vai bhūme yatra pañcaśikho muniḥ || athātra muñcate prāṇān mama bhakto jitendriyaḥ
sa tatra gachChedvai bhUme yatra paMchashikho muniH || athAtra muMchate prANAnmama bhakto jitendriyaH
まことに彼は地上にて、牟尼パンチャシカ（Pañcaśikha）の在す場所へ赴くべし。するとここで、我が信徒は—自制し諸根を制した者として—命の息を捨てる。
Sandhi Notes
- gacched vai → gacchet vai
- athātra → atha atra
- prāṇān mama → prāṇān mama (anusvāra sandhi in text)
- jitendriyaḥ → jita-indriyaḥ
Varāha
Curious; seeking guidance on sacred geography and liberation
Which sacred destination should be visited, and what is the liberating end attained there by a self-controlled devotee?
Jitendriyatā + bhakti, when joined to tīrtha (kṣetra), ripens into ‘paramā gati’ even through the act of dying there.
Undertake pilgrimage with restraint (food, speech, senses), cultivate devotion, and approach death with detachment in a sanctified setting rather than in heedlessness.
A devotee should undertake tīrtha-yātrā with jitendriyatā (sense-control) and, at the prescribed sacred spot, may attain a sanctified death (kṣetra-maraṇa) leading to liberation.
Sense-controlled pilgrimage culminates in ‘parama gati’; lack of restraint undermines tīrtha-phala and binds one to saṃsāra.
Vaiṣṇava soteriology is foregrounded through devotion and self-control.
Varāha Purāṇa 151.47-49 (continuation of itinerary and phala); Varāha Purāṇa 151.48 (abhiṣeka discipline at the streams)
FAQs
It preserves a toponymic marker anchored in a sage-name (Pañcaśikha), a common Purāṇic strategy for mapping sacred geography through remembered lineages and exemplary ascetic ideals.
A place associated with the sage Pañcaśikha is identified, though no modern correlate is supplied in the fragment.
Self-control (jitendriyatā) and disciplined devotion are presented as the qualifying virtues accompanying pilgrimage and ritual practice.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
