Shloka 50

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

Devanagari script

तत्र नारीह्रदे स्नात्वा पूजयित्वा च शङ्करम् कालिञ्जरं समभ्येत्य नीलकण्ठं ददर्श सः

Transliteration

tatra nārīhrade snātvā pūjayitvā ca śaṅkaram kāliñjaraṃ samabhyetya nīlakaṇṭhaṃ dadarśa saḥ

Translation

There, having bathed in the lake called Nārīhrada and having worshipped Śaṅkara, he approached Kāliñjara and beheld Nīlakaṇṭha.

Speakers

• Narratorial voice within the tirtha-itinerary (speaker not explicit in the given excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Sacred waters (hrada) as ritual nodes
• Darśana of a deity as pilgrimage culmination
• Śaiva tīrthas and epithets anchored to place
• Mythic epithet (Nīlakaṇṭha) localized in geography

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse pair bathing (snāna) with worship (pūjā) and then “seeing” (darśana)?

This is a standard Purāṇic pilgrimage grammar: purification through water (snāna) prepares the pilgrim for formal worship (pūjā), which culminates in darśana—encountering the deity’s presence at a specific locale (here, Nīlakaṇṭha at Kāliñjara).

What is the geographical significance of Kāliñjara in such itineraries?

Kāliñjara functions as a prominent Śaiva landmark (often a hill/fort complex in later historical memory). In Purāṇic mapping, it serves as a named anchor that organizes surrounding minor tīrthas (like Nārīhrada) into a coherent route.

Does “Nīlakaṇṭha” here necessarily retell the poison-churning myth?

Not directly in this verse; rather, it uses the mythic epithet as a place-linked identity. Purāṇic geography frequently ‘plants’ pan-Indic divine names into local landscapes, making the site itself a mnemonic for the larger mythic world.