Shloka 73

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

Devanagari script

तस्मादथागाद् दैत्येन्द्रः शालग्रामं महाफलम् यत्र संनिहितो विष्णुश्चरेषु स्थावरेषु च / 57.72 तत्र सर्वगतं विष्णुं मत्वा चक्रे रतिं बली पूजयन् भगवत्पादौ महाभागवतो मुने

Transliteration

tasmādathāgād daityendraḥ śālagrāmaṃ mahāphalam yatra saṃnihito viṣṇuścareṣu sthāvareṣu ca / 57.72 tatra sarvagataṃ viṣṇuṃ matvā cakre ratiṃ balī pūjayan bhagavatpādau mahābhāgavato mune

Translation

Then the lord of the Daityas went to Śālagrāma, the giver of great fruit, where Viṣṇu is present among moving beings and unmoving beings as well. There, understanding Viṣṇu to be all-pervading, Bali developed loving devotion, worshipping the feet of the Blessed Lord—O sage—being a great devotee.

Speakers

• Narrator voice within the Purāṇic dialogue
• addressing ‘mune’ (a sage interlocutor) while recounting Bali’s actions

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Śālagrāma-māhātmya
• Immanence of Viṣṇu (in moving and unmoving beings)
• Bhakti (rati)
• Pāda-pūjā (worship of the Lord’s feet)
• Transformation of Bali into a mahābhāgavata

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is ‘Śālagrāma’ in this passage—place, stone, or both?

The verse treats Śālagrāma as a tīrtha ‘mahāphalam’ (bestowing great fruit) and simultaneously as a locus of Viṣṇu’s special presence. In Purāṇic usage, Śālagrāma commonly denotes both the sacred region associated with the Śālagrāma-śilā tradition and the aniconic stone form revered as Viṣṇu.

Why does the text emphasize Viṣṇu’s presence ‘in moving and unmoving beings’?

It articulates a theology of immanence: the tīrtha is not merely a physical site but a pedagogical space where the pilgrim realizes sarvagatatva (all-pervasion). This realization matures into rati (devotional love) and culminates in pāda-pūjā, a hallmark of bhakti humility.

What is the narrative significance of Bali becoming a ‘mahābhāgavata’?

It reframes Bali beyond the adversarial Vāmana episode: the Asura-king is shown as capable of profound devotion through tīrtha-yātrā and right understanding. This supports a recurring Purāṇic theme that devotion and dharma are accessible across social and cosmic categories when oriented toward Bhagavān.