The Description of Mandara (Mandaropavarṇanam) in the Mohinī Narrative
सकांचनै रत्नमयैश्च श्रृंगैः प्रकाशयन्भूमितलं वियच्च । यस्मिन्गतः कश्यपनंदनो वै विरश्मितामेति विनष्टतेजाः ॥ १५ ॥
sakāṃcanai ratnamayaiśca śrṛṃgaiḥ prakāśayanbhūmitalaṃ viyacca | yasmingataḥ kaśyapanaṃdano vai viraśmitāmeti vinaṣṭatejāḥ || 15 ||
सकाञ्चनै रत्नमयैश्च शृङ्गैः स भूमितलं वियच्च प्रकाशयन्। यस्मिन् गतः कश्यपनन्दनोऽपि विरश्मितामेति, विनष्टतेजाः इव ॥
Narada (narrating in a Tirtha-Mahatmya description)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
It magnifies a sacred locus by portraying it as so radiant that even the Sun’s brilliance appears to fade upon entering it—an idiom used in tirtha-mahātmya to convey extraordinary sanctity and merit.
By elevating the tirtha’s glory beyond ordinary cosmic powers, the verse encourages श्रद्धा (faith) and reverent approach—key bhakti dispositions—toward sacred places connected with divine presence and purifying merit.
Indirectly, it echoes Jyotiṣa-style cosmological language (Sun, radiance, sky/earth), a common Purāṇic way of framing sacred geography with astronomical symbolism, though no technical ritual procedure is specified in this single verse.