Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Tirtha Circuit, Shloka 49

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

Devanagari script

स्नात्वा कोकामुके तीर्थे संपूज्य धरणीधरम् त्रिसौवर्णं महादेवमर्बुदेशं जगाम ह

Transliteration

snātvā kokāmuke tīrthe saṃpūjya dharaṇīdharam trisauvarṇaṃ mahādevamarbudeśaṃ jagāma ha

Translation

കോകാമുഖ തീർത്ഥത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത്, ത്രിസൗവർണ്ണൻ എന്ന നാമത്തിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധനായ ധരണീധര മഹാദേവനെ സമ്യകായി പൂജിച്ച്, അവൻ അർബുദദേശത്തേക്കു പോയി।

Speakers

• Narratorial voice within the tirtha-itinerary (speaker not explicit in the given excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Tirtha Yatra (pilgrimage itinerary)
• Ritual bathing (snāna) as purification
• Local epithets of Śiva and regional Śaiva cults
• Sacred geography mapping through sequential travel

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the function of this verse within Vāmana Purāṇa’s geography-oriented sections?

It acts as a waypoint in a sequential pilgrimage map: the pilgrim performs snāna and pūjā at a named tīrtha (Kokāmukha), venerates a locally-titled Śiva (Trisauvarṇa/Dharaṇīdhara), and then proceeds to the next region (Arbuda). This is characteristic of Purāṇic “itinerary geography,” where sanctity is encoded as a route.

Who is “Dharaṇīdhara” here—Viṣṇu or Śiva?

Although Dharaṇīdhara can be used for Viṣṇu in other contexts, the verse explicitly apposes it with “Mahādeva” and “Trisauvarṇa,” making it a Śaiva designation at this site: Śiva as the cosmic supporter/stabilizer of the earth.

What does “Trisauvarṇa” likely indicate?

It is best read as a local cult-title—“threefold golden”—possibly referring to a liṅga, icon, or ritual offering tradition associated with gold (suvarṇa) in three modes/parts. In tīrtha catalogues, such epithets often preserve regional liturgical memory rather than abstract theology.