Shloka 15
The Description of Mandara (Mandaropavarṇanam) in the Mohinī Narrative
सकांचनै रत्नमयैश्च श्रृंगैः प्रकाशयन्भूमितलं वियच्च । यस्मिन्गतः कश्यपनंदनो वै विरश्मितामेति विनष्टतेजाः ॥ १५ ॥
sakāṃcanai ratnamayaiśca śrṛṃgaiḥ prakāśayanbhūmitalaṃ viyacca | yasmingataḥ kaśyapanaṃdano vai viraśmitāmeti vinaṣṭatejāḥ || 15 ||
സ്വർണ്ണവും രത്നവും നിറഞ്ഞ ശിഖരങ്ങളാൽ അത് ഭൂമിതലവും ആകാശവും പ്രകാശിപ്പിക്കുന്നു; എന്നാൽ കശ്യപനന്ദനായ സൂര്യൻ അതിൽ പ്രവേശിക്കുമ്പോൾ കിരണഹീനനായി—തേജസ് നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടവനെന്നപോലെ തോന്നുന്നു।
Narada (narrating in a Tirtha-Mahatmya description)
Vrata: none
Rasa: {"primary_rasa":"adbhuta","secondary_rasa":"shanta","emotional_journey":"Brilliance and splendor (golden jewel-peaks lighting earth and sky) turns to astonishment at the paradox: the Sun’s radiance is subdued upon entering."}
FAQs
It magnifies a sacred locus by portraying it as so radiant that even the Sun’s brilliance appears to fade upon entering it—an idiom used in tirtha-mahātmya to convey extraordinary sanctity and merit.
By elevating the tirtha’s glory beyond ordinary cosmic powers, the verse encourages श्रद्धा (faith) and reverent approach—key bhakti dispositions—toward sacred places connected with divine presence and purifying merit.
Indirectly, it echoes Jyotiṣa-style cosmological language (Sun, radiance, sky/earth), a common Purāṇic way of framing sacred geography with astronomical symbolism, though no technical ritual procedure is specified in this single verse.