Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Tirtha Circuit, Shloka 73

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

ਫਿਰ ਦੈਤਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਇੰਦਰ ਸ਼ਾਲਗ੍ਰਾਮ ਗਿਆ, ਜੋ ਮਹਾਨ ਫਲ ਦੇਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਹੈ; ਜਿੱਥੇ ਵਿਸ਼ਨੂ ਚਰ ਅਤੇ ਸਥਾਵਰ ਸਭ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੰਨਿਹਿਤ ਹੈ। ਉੱਥੇ ਵਿਸ਼ਨੂ ਨੂੰ ਸਰਬ-ਵਿਆਪੀ ਜਾਣ ਕੇ ਬਲੀ ਨੇ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ-ਭਕਤੀ ਧਾਰਨ ਕੀਤੀ ਅਤੇ, ਹੇ ਮੁਨੀ, ਮਹਾ-ਭਾਗਵਤ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਦੇ ਚਰਨਾਂ ਦੀ ਪੂਜਾ ਕੀਤੀ।

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.