Vamana Purana — Bali's Sudarshana Worship, Shloka 63

Bali’s Worship of Sudarshana and Prahlada’s Teaching on Vishnu-Bhakti

Devanagari script

पृथिव्यां यानि तीर्थानि पुण्यान्यायतनानि च तानि सर्वाण्यवाप्नोति विष्णोर्नामानुकीर्तनात्

Transliteration

pṛthivyāṃ yāni tīrthāni puṇyānyāyatanāni ca tāni sarvāṇyavāpnoti viṣṇornāmānukīrtanāt

Translation

വിഷ്ണുവിന്റെ നാമങ്ങളെ നിരന്തരം കീർത്തനം ചെയ്യുന്നതിലൂടെ ഭൂമിയിലെ എല്ലാ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളുടെയും എല്ലാ പുണ്യായതനങ്ങളുടെയും സമ്പൂർണ്ണ പുണ്യഫലം ലഭിക്കുന്നു।

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (within Adhyāya 67’s didactic discourse)

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Nāma-mahātmya (power of divine names)
• Tīrtha-phala equivalence through bhakti
• Accessibility of merit beyond physical pilgrimage
• Bhakti as a universal purifier

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Does this verse deny the value of physical tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage)?

It does not negate pilgrimage; it asserts an equivalence of merit: sincere nāma-kīrtana can confer the same tīrtha-phala that would otherwise require extensive travel. This is a common Purāṇic strategy to universalize access to dharma when pilgrimage is difficult.

What is meant by ‘puṇya-āyatana’ here?

Āyatana literally means a ‘seat’ or ‘abode’; in Purāṇic usage it can include temples, sanctified groves, hermitages, and other consecrated loci of merit. The verse groups these with tīrthas to cover both ‘crossing-places’ (rivers/ghāṭas) and ‘holy seats’ (shrines).

Why is nāma-kīrtana treated as geographically comprehensive?

Because the divine name is presented as a portable, ever-available locus of sanctity. The merit associated with many places is ‘collected’ into a single practice, making sacred geography spiritually accessible without physically traversing it.