Shloka 7

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

Devanagari script

पयोष्णायामखण्डं च वितस्तायां कुमारिलम् मणिमत्पर्वते शंभुं ब्रह्मण्ये च प्रजापतिम्

Transliteration

payoṣṇāyāmakhaṇḍaṃ ca vitastāyāṃ kumārilam maṇimatparvate śaṃbhuṃ brahmaṇye ca prajāpatim

Translation

பயோஷ்ணீ நதிக்கரையில் அவர் அகண்டன்; விதஸ்தா நதியில் குமாரிலன்; மணிமத் மலையில் சம்பு; மேலும் பிரஹ்மண்யத்தில் பிரஜாபதி என அறியப்பட வேண்டும்।

Speakers

• Likely the narrator (traditionally Pulastya) to Nārada
• continuing the place-by-place deity mapping.

Primary Deities

• Shiva
• Prajapati
• Brahma

Key Themes

• Riverine sacred geography
• Mountain as deity-seat (parvata-adhivāsa)
• Plurality of creator/beneficent forms (Prajāpati, Śambhu)
• Integration of sectarian deities within one pilgrimage grid

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Does “Akhaṇḍa” indicate a philosophical doctrine or a local deity-name?

In this catalogue style, it functions primarily as a local epithet of the presiding sacred power at the Payoṣṇī tirtha. The term also carries theological resonance—divinity as ‘undivided’—which strengthens the site’s sacral meaning.

Why are rivers like Vitastā explicitly named in the Vāmana Purāṇa?

A major function of the text’s māhātmya sections is cartographic sanctification: rivers serve as primary pilgrimage corridors. Naming them anchors the sacred network in recognizable hydrology and regional memory.

What does the pairing “Maṇimat-parvata — Śambhu” convey?

It marks the mountain as a Śaiva seat (śaila-kṣetra), where Śiva is approached as Śambhu. Such pairings encode a practical pilgrimage instruction: ‘at this mountain, worship this form/name.’