Vamana Purana — Sacred Abodes of Vishnu & Shiva, Shloka 24

Catalogue of Vishnu and Shiva’s Sacred Abodes (Tirtha-Mahatmya within the Pulastya–Narada Frame)

Devanagari script

शोणे च रुक्मकवचं कुण्डिने घ्राणतर्पणम् भिल्लीवने महायोगं माद्रेषु पुरुषोत्तमम्

Transliteration

śoṇe ca rukmakavacaṃ kuṇḍine ghrāṇatarpaṇam bhillīvane mahāyogaṃ mādreṣu puruṣottamam

Translation

{"bhagavata_parallel": "Bhagavata Purana 6 (nāraka descriptions; karma leading to hell) (thematic parallel)", "vishnu_purana_parallel": "Vishnu Purana 2.6 (nāraka and karmic consequences) (thematic parallel)", "ramayana_connection": null, "mahabharata_echo": "Mahabharata 13 (Anushasana Parva) on sexual ethics and consequences (thematic)", "other_puranas": ["Garuda Purana (preta-khanda/naraka-kathana; adultery punishments)", "Agni Purana (nāraka and dharma topics)"], "vedic_reference": null}

Word by Word

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Speakers

• Narrator/teacher continuing the enumerative tīrtha list to a Brahmin addressee

Primary Deities

• Vishnu
• Shiva

Key Themes

• Pilgrimage network spanning rivers, forests, and ethnoregions
• Localization of divine epithets into specific shrines
• Vaiṣṇava presence (Puruṣottama) within a broader multi-sect tīrtha map

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What does it mean when the text says ‘on the Śoṇa’ (śoṇe)?

Such locatives typically indicate a riverine tīrtha—either a bathing-ghāṭ, a confluence point, or a shrine situated on the riverbank—where the named deity-form (here Rukmakavaca) is venerated.

Is ‘Puruṣottama’ here the same as the famous Jagannātha/Puruṣottama-kṣetra?

The verse locates Puruṣottama ‘among the Mādras,’ so it is presenting a regional shrine bearing the Viṣṇu epithet Puruṣottama, not necessarily identical with the coastal Puruṣottama-kṣetra of later pan-Indian fame.

How should we understand unusual tīrtha-names like Ghrāṇatarpaṇa?

Tīrtha catalogues preserve local cult-titles that may encode a specific ritual (tarpaṇa/propitiation), a bodily/medical association (ghrāṇa/nose), or a now-obscure myth. The Purāṇic function is to authorize the place by naming it within the sacred map.