Vamana Purana — Merit of Shravana Dvadashi, Shloka 4

The Merit of Śravaṇa-Dvādaśī and the Liberation of a Preta through Gayā Piṇḍa-Rites

Devanagari script

संत्यज्य मेरुं कनकाचलेन्द्रं तीर्थं जगामामरसंघजुष्टम् ख्यातं पृतिव्यां शुभदं हि मानसं यत्र स्थितो मत्स्यवपुः सुरेशः // वम्प्_52.3 तस्मिंस्तीर्थवरे स्नात्वा संतर्प्य पितृदेवताः संपूज्य च जगन्नाथमच्युतं श्रुतिभिर्युतम्

Transliteration

saṃtyajya meruṃ kanakācalendraṃ tīrthaṃ jagāmāmarasaṃghajuṣṭam khyātaṃ pṛtivyāṃ śubhadaṃ hi mānasaṃ yatra sthito matsyavapuḥ sureśaḥ // VamP_52.3 tasmiṃstīrthavare snātvā saṃtarpya pitṛdevatāḥ saṃpūjya ca jagannāthamacyutaṃ śrutibhiryutam

Translation

Leaving Meru, the lord of golden mountains, he went to a sacred ford frequented by hosts of immortals—famed upon the earth as the auspicious Mānasatīrtha—where the Lord of the gods, bearing the form of a Fish, abides. Having bathed at that excellent tīrtha, he satisfied the Pitṛs and the deities with offerings, and duly worshipped Jagannātha Acyuta, accompanied by Vedic recitations.

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) describing the pilgrim’s actions (speaker-to-listener not explicit in the excerpt).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Matsya)
• Vishnu (Jagannatha/Acyuta)

Key Themes

• Tirtha Mahima (sanctity of Mānasatīrtha)
• Pilgrimage discipline (snāna, upavāsa, pūjā)
• Pitṛ-tarpaṇa (ancestral rites)
• Vedic orthopraxy (Śruti-recitation in worship)
• Vaishnava sacred geography (Matsya presence at a tīrtha)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why is Mānasatīrtha described as ‘frequented by devas’ and ‘auspicious on earth’ in a geography-focused Purāṇa?

In tīrtha-māhātmya sections, divine attendance functions as a cartographic marker of sanctity: the place is mapped not only by physical features (lake/ford) but by its ‘celestial usage’ (amara-saṃgha-juṣṭa). This is a standard Purāṇic way of ranking sites and explaining why pilgrimage there yields exceptional merit.

How can ‘sureśaḥ’ (lord of the gods) be ‘in the form of a fish’—is this Indra or Viṣṇu?

Although sureśaḥ can denote Indra in other contexts, the explicit ‘matsya-vapuḥ’ identifies the supreme deity as Viṣṇu in his Matsya avatāra. The verse then confirms this by naming him Jagannātha and Acyuta—unambiguous epithets of Viṣṇu.

What ritual sequence is implied by ‘snātvā… saṃtarpya… saṃpūjya… śrutibhiḥ’?

The verse outlines a normative tīrtha-rite: (1) snāna (purificatory bath), (2) tarpaṇa to Pitṛs and devas (water/oblations), and (3) pūjā to Viṣṇu, performed with Vedic recitation (śruti), emphasizing that pilgrimage merit is completed by both ancestral duty and deity-worship.