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

At Udaya (are worshipped) the Moon, the Sun, and Dhruva—this triad is established (there). At Hemakūṭa (is) Hiraṇyākṣa; and at Śaravaṇa, O sage, (is) Skanda.

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.