Vamana Purana — Prahlada at Kurukshetra, Shloka 8

Prahlada’s Kurukshetra Pilgrimage and the Origin of the Chakra–Trishula Exchange

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वा च दृष्ट्वा च संतर्प्य पितृदेवताः पुण्डरीकं च संपूज्य उवास दिवसत्रयम्

Transliteration

tatra snātvā ca dṛṣṭvā ca saṃtarpya pitṛdevatāḥ puṇḍarīkaṃ ca saṃpūjya uvāsa divasatrayam

Translation

त्यानंतर तो पुन्हा त्रैलोक्यात प्रसिद्ध सरस्वतीच्या तीर्थस्थानी—कोटिVamana Purana,55,9,VamP 55.9,viśākhayūpe tadanu dṛṣṭvā devaṃ tathājitam snātvā tathā kṛṣṇatīrthe trirātraṃ nyavasacchuciḥ,विशाखयूपे तदनु दृष्ट्वा देवं तथाजितम् स्नात्वा तथा कृष्णतीर्थे त्रिरात्रं न्यवसच्छुचिः,Saromahatmiya,Tirtha Mahima,Adhyaya 55 (Tirtha-yatra sequence around sacred waters and shrines),9,viśākhayūpe tadanu dṛṣṭvā devaṃ tathājitam snātvā tathā kṛṣṇatīrthe trirātraṃ nyavasacchuciḥ,viśākhayūpe tadanu dṛṣṭvā devaṃ tathājitaṃ snātvā tathā kṛṣṇa-tīrthe tri-rātraṃ nyavasac chuciḥ,Thereafter

Speakers

• Narrator continuing the account of Prahlāda’s actions at Puṇḍarīka.

Primary Deities

• Pitṛs (ancestral deities)
• Puṇḍarīka (tīrtha/deity locus)

Key Themes

• Pitṛ-tarpaṇa at tīrthas
• Integration of śrāddha-logic into pilgrimage
• Merit through extended residence (three-day stay)
• Ritual completeness: snāna + darśana + tarpaṇa + pūjā

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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FAQs

Why is tarpaṇa to the Pitṛs performed at this water-tīrtha?

Tarpaṇa is classically water-mediated: libations (udaka) are offered to sustain and honor the Pitṛs. A major water-site (‘great waters’ in the preceding verse) is therefore especially apt for pitṛ-kārya, amplifying the rite’s efficacy in Purāṇic valuation.

What is the significance of staying ‘three days’ (divasatrayam)?

A three-day residence marks deliberate observance rather than a passing visit. In tīrtha literature, extended stay often implies completion of vows (vrata), repeated bathing/worship cycles, and accruing compounded merit tied to the site’s sanctity.

Does ‘dṛṣṭvā’ here mean seeing a physical idol, a liṅga, or the tīrtha itself?

It can encompass all three. In pilgrimage idiom, ‘darśana’ includes beholding the installed deity (mūrti/liṅga), the sanctified natural feature (water/lotus-lake), and the ritualized space as a manifestation of sacred presence.