Shloka 68

Vṛṣotsarga (Bull-Release Gift): Procedure, Merit, and Narratives on Dharma, Karma, and Liberation

Devanagari script

वेङ्कटी नाम तत्रैव देवी महिषमर्दिनी / चन्द्रतीर्थं भद्रवटः कावेरीकुटिलाचलौ

Transliteration

veṅkaṭī nāma tatraiva devī mahiṣamardinī / candratīrthaṃ bhadravaṭaḥ kāverīkuṭilācalau

Translation

അവിടെയേ മഹിഷമർദിനിയായ ‘വേങ്കടീ’ എന്ന ദേവി വിരാജിക്കുന്നു. അവിടെ ചന്ദ്രതീർത്ഥം, ഭദ്രവടം, കൂടാതെ കാവേരി എന്നും കുടിലാചലവും ഉണ്ട്.

Word by Word

• वेङ्कटी: Veṅkaṭī (name of a goddess/place)
• वेङ्कटी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेङ्कटी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नाम: namely/by name
• नाम: Sambandha/Specifier (नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नाम-शब्दः (particle: ‘by name/namely’)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• महिषमर्दिनी: slayer of the buffalo(-demon)
• महिषमर्दिनी: Karta (Subject-complement/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महिष + मर्दिनी (प्रातिपदिक; √मृद्/मर्द् (धातु) + णिनि-प्रत्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (देवी-विशेषण)

• चन्द्रतीर्थम्: Candratīrtha (Moon sacred ford)
• चन्द्रतीर्थम्: Karma/Listing item (उद्देश्य/नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; नाम (तीर्थ-नाम)

• भद्रवटः: Bhadravaṭa (auspicious banyan/place)
• भद्रवटः: Karta/Listing item (नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भद्र + वट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नाम (वट-वृक्ष/स्थान-नाम)

• कावेरी: Kāverī (river)
• कावेरी: Qualifier within compound (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कावेरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; समासपूर्वपद (कावेरी-नदी)

• कुटिल: crooked/curving
• कुटिल: Qualifier within compound (समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुटिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद; विशेषणार्थ (crooked/curving)

• अचलौ: the two mountains called Kāverī-Kuṭilācala
• अचलौ: Karta/Listing item (नामनिर्देश)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अचल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; समस्तपद: कावेरी-कुटिल-अचलौ (two mountains)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Sacred geography as a support for devotion—remembering/visiting Devi and tīrthas purifies and steadies the mind.

Vedantic Theme: Īśvara-smṛti as citta-śuddhi (purification of mind) preparing for higher knowledge.

Application: Undertake tīrtha-yātrā with sankalpa; recite Devī/Vishnu names while visiting; treat rivers and hills as living sacred presences (non-exploitative conduct).

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: devi-kṣetra, tīrtha, river-region, mountain

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.6 (tīrtha-māhātmya / route listing context); Related tīrtha lists elsewhere in Garuda Purana (general parallel passages on snāna-phala)

Characters & Entities

• Veṅkaṭī (Devī)
• Mahiṣamardinī
• Candratīrtha
• Bhadravaṭa
• Kāverī
• Kuṭilācala

FAQs

What is the importance of sacred tirthas like Candratīrtha in the Garuda Purana?

This verse treats specific tirthas and deity-sites as spiritually potent locations; remembering or visiting them is presented in the Preta Kanda context as a means to gain merit and purification supportive of auspicious post-death outcomes.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by naming holy places and a protective form of the Goddess (Mahiṣamardinī), the text signals that dharmic acts—such as tirtha-smarana, pilgrimage, and devotion—contribute to merit that influences the soul’s journey described elsewhere in the Preta Kanda.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Maintain devotion and ethical living supported by sacred remembrance: recite or remember revered tirthas and Divine names, and when possible undertake disciplined pilgrimage with charity and purity of conduct.