Shloka 19
Umāyāḥ Kriyāyoga-Rahasya
The Esoteric Teaching on Umā’s Kriyāyoga
वाराणस्यां कुरुक्षेत्रे प्रयागे पुष्करे तथा । गंगासमुद्रतीरे च नैमिषेऽमरकण्टके
vārāṇasyāṃ kurukṣetre prayāge puṣkare tathā | gaṃgāsamudratīre ca naimiṣe'marakaṇṭake
ವಾರಾಣಸಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಕುರುಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ, ಪ್ರಯಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಪುಷ್ಕರದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ; ಗಂಗಾ-ಸಮುದ್ರ ಸಂಗಮತೀರದಲ್ಲಿ, ನೈಮಿಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಅಮರಕಂಟಕದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ—ಇವು ಪರಮ ಪಾವನ ತೀರ್ಥಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳು.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Jyotirlinga: Viśvanātha
Sthala Purana: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) is celebrated as Śiva’s own city where liberation is granted; the verse lists major tīrthas as supremely sanctifying, with Kāśī foremost in Śaiva imagination.
Significance: Tīrtha-saṅgraha: visiting/remembering these kṣetras is said to purify and orient the paśu toward Śiva; Kāśī especially is linked with mokṣa-bestowal.
FAQs
The verse enumerates renowned tīrthas, emphasizing that proximity to such sanctified spaces supports purification of karma and steadies the mind toward devotion to Pati (Śiva), which is central to liberation-oriented Shaiva practice.
These kṣetras are traditionally associated with intensified Saguna worship—temples, liṅga-darśana, and vrata—where devotion becomes more focused; the tīrtha setting is treated as an aid that turns the seeker toward Śiva’s grace.
Undertake tīrtha-yātrā with Śiva-bhakti: bathe (snāna) at the tīrtha, perform japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and offer simple pūjā to a liṅga with a pure, restrained mind.