Shloka 10

Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Catalog of Sacred Places and the Supreme Inner Tīrtha

Devanagari script

उज्जयिन्यां महाकालः कुब्जके श्रीधरो हरिः / कुब्जाम्रकं महातीर्थं कालसर्पिश्च कामदम्

Transliteration

ujjayinyāṃ mahākālaḥ kubjake śrīdharo hariḥ / kubjāmrakaṃ mahātīrthaṃ kālasarpiśca kāmadam

Translation

उज्जयिन्यां महाकालः, कुब्जके श्रीधरो हरिः। कुब्जाम्रकं महातीर्थं, कालसर्पिः कामदः॥

Word by Word

• उज्जयिन्याम्: in Ujjayinī (Ujjain)
• उज्जयिन्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उज्जयिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• महाकालः: Mahākāla
• महाकालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• कुब्जके: in Kubjaka (place)
• कुब्जके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुब्जक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• श्रीधरः: Śrīdhara
• श्रीधरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री + धर (प्रातिपदिक; धर = √धृ (धातु) से निष्पन्न)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• हरिः: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिः: Apposition/Viśeṣya (Identificational)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘श्रीधरः’ इत्यस्य अप्पोजिशन

• कुब्जाम्रकम्: Kubjāmraka (place)
• कुब्जाम्रकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुब्ज + आम्रक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• महातीर्थम्: great pilgrimage place
• महातीर्थम्: Apposition/Viśeṣya (Identificational)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘कुब्जाम्रकम्’ इत्यस्य विशेष्य/अप्पोजिशन

• कालसर्पिः: Kālasarpi (place/deity name)
• कालसर्पिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल + सर्पि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• कामदम्: wish-granting
• कामदम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कामद (प्रातिपदिक; ‘कामं ददाति’ इति बहुव्रीह्यर्थे)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (कालसर्पिः/तत्सम्बद्धं तीर्थम्)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Deity-sannidhya in kṣetras (Śiva/Hari) grants purification and desired fruits; devotion expressed through darśana and tīrtha-sevā.

Vedantic Theme: Īśvara-anugraha as a decisive factor; harmonizing sectarian forms (Hari/Śiva) under sacred geography; boons subordinated to auspicious alignment with dharma.

Application: Visit/remember Ujjain Mahākāla and Śrīdhara-Hari with disciplined worship; frame ‘wish-fulfillment’ as seeking virtues (self-control, clarity) rather than mere consumption.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: purī / deva-kṣetra / tīrtha

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: tīrtha lists including Ujjayinī and major kṣetras (general internal motif)

Characters & Entities

• Mahākāla
• Hari (Vishnu)
• Śrīdhara
• Ujjayinī (Ujjain)
• Kubjaka
• Kubjāmraka
• Kālasarpi

FAQs

What is the importance of Ujjayinī (Ujjain) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse identifies Ujjayinī as the seat of Mahākāla, marking it as a highly meritorious sacred center within the Purana’s pilgrimage geography.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by praising tīrthas and deity-abodes, it supports the Garuda Purana theme that dharmic acts—such as pilgrimage and devotion—generate merit (puṇya) that aids one’s spiritual progress.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Honor sacred places and deities with sincere devotion and ethical living; treat pilgrimage as a discipline of purification rather than mere travel.