Shloka 21

Sacred Abodes of Vishnu & Shiva — Catalogue of Vishnu and Shiva’s Sacred Abodes (Tirtha-Mahatmya within the Pulastya–Narada Frame)

Devanagari script

उदये शशिनं सूर्यं ध्रुवं च त्रितयं स्थितम् हेमकूटे हिरण्याक्षं स्कन्दं शरवणे मुने

Transliteration

udaye śaśinaṃ sūryaṃ dhruvaṃ ca tritayaṃ sthitam hemakūṭe hiraṇyākṣaṃ skandaṃ śaravaṇe mune

Translation

ଉଦୟରେ ଚନ୍ଦ୍ର, ସୂର୍ଯ୍ୟ ଓ ଧ୍ରୁବ—ଏହି ତ୍ରୟ ସେଠାରେ ପ୍ରତିଷ୍ଠିତ ଓ ପୂଜିତ। ହେମକୂଟରେ ହିରଣ୍ୟାକ୍ଷ; ହେ ମୁନି, ଶରବଣରେ ସ୍କନ୍ଦ ବିରାଜନ୍ତି।

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher addressing a sage (vocative: mune); specific interlocutors not stated in the given excerpt.

Primary Deities

• Chandra
• Surya
• Dhruva
• Skanda (Kartikeya)

Key Themes

• Pilgrimage geography linking celestial deities to terrestrial sites
• Triadic worship (Sun–Moon–Dhruva) as a localized cult
• Skanda’s sacred landscape (Śaravaṇa)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Sun, Moon, and Dhruva grouped together at Udaya?

The verse presents Udaya as a site where a ‘tritaya’ of celestial powers is ritually ‘established’. Dhruva complements Sun and Moon as the fixed cosmic pivot, making the triad a compact cosmological map expressed through pilgrimage.

How can an asura like Hiraṇyākṣa be ‘at’ Hemakūṭa?

In tīrtha-catalogues, names can mark (a) a shrine/legendary association, (b) a local toponym derived from a myth, or (c) a remembered event tied to that place. The verse signals Hemakūṭa’s fame through the Hiraṇyākṣa association without necessarily implying his worship as a deity.

What does Śaravaṇa indicate in relation to Skanda?

Śaravaṇa evokes the ‘reed/grass thicket’ setting prominent in Skanda’s birth-cycle traditions (Śaravaṇa/Śaravaṇabhava). The Purāṇic geography anchors Skanda’s mythic origins to a visitable sacred locale.