Shloka 55

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

Devanagari script

पद्मनाभं स तत्रर्च्य सप्तगोदावरं ययौ तत्र स्नात्वार्ऽच्य विश्वेशं भीमं त्रैलोक्यवन्दितम्

Transliteration

padmanābhaṃ sa tatrarcya saptagodāvaraṃ yayau tatra snātvār'cya viśveśaṃ bhīmaṃ trailokyavanditam

Translation

Having worshipped Padmanābha there, he went on to Saptagodāvara. There, after bathing, he worshipped Viśveśa (the Lord of all), the Bhīma (form of Śiva) who is revered by the three worlds.

Word by Word

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Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic narrator) describing a pilgrim’s itinerary (speaker not explicit in the given excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Padmanabha)
• Shiva (Vishvesha/Bhima)

Key Themes

• Tirtha Yatra (pilgrimage sequence)
• Snana (ritual bathing)
• Shaiva–Vaishnava unity (worship of Vishnu then Shiva)
• Lingarcana (liṅga worship)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why does the verse place Padmanābha worship immediately before Śiva-worship at Saptagodāvara?

This is a characteristic Purāṇic pilgrimage pattern: the yātrā is not sectarian but integrative. The pilgrim honors Viṣṇu (Padmanābha) and then proceeds to a Śaiva tirtha (Viśveśa/Bhīma), presenting tīrtha-travel as a harmonizing practice across major deities.

What is ‘Saptagodāvara’ in geographical terms?

The compound suggests a Godāvarī sacred zone marked by ‘seven’—commonly interpreted as seven streams/branches, seven confluences, or seven stations of merit along the river. The text treats it as a named tirtha destination where snāna and liṅga-arcana are central.

Who is ‘Bhīma’ here—an epithet or a specific shrine?

Both readings are possible in Purāṇic usage. Grammatically it qualifies the deity as ‘mighty/terrible,’ but in many tirtha-catalogues ‘Bhīma’ also functions as a proper name for a particular liṅga revered as ‘worshipped by the three worlds.’