Varaha Purana 151.63: Adhyaya 151, Shloka 63
The Sacred Greatness of Lohārgala
The ‘Iron-Bolt’ Tīrtha
Uttara Bhāga · Tīrtha-māhātmya (Merit and Rudra-worlds)
तत्र स्नानं तु कुर्वीत द्वादशाहोषितो नरः ॥ मोदते रुद्रलोकेषु रुद्रकन्याभिरावृतः
tatra snānaṃ tu kurvīta dvādaśāhoṣito naraḥ || modate rudra-lokeṣu rudra-kanyābhir āvṛtaḥ
tatra snAnaM tu kurvIta dvAdashAhoShito naraH || modate rudralokeShu rudrakanyAbhirAvRRitaH
అక్కడ పన్నెండు రోజులు నివసించిన మనిషి స్నానం చేయాలి; అతడు రుద్ర-లోకాలలో రుద్రకన్యలతో ఆవరించబడి ఆనందిస్తాడు.
Sandhi Notes
- द्वादशाहोषितः = द्वादश-अह-उषितः (अ + उ → ओ)
- रुद्रकन्याभिरावृतः = रुद्र-कन्याभिः + आवृतः (ः + आ → र् + आ; visarga sandhi: भिः + आ → भिरा)
Varāha
Curious
What is the prescribed practice at that tīrtha (bathing after twelve days), and what loka-fruit does it yield?
Specific, disciplined acts at specific sacred loci yield correspondingly specific results; purity and perseverance are emphasized.
Undertake the stay with restraint (brahmacarya, ahiṃsā, satya) and complete the concluding bath as the capstone of the observance.
The twelve-day cycle evokes completeness (dvādaśa as solar/ritual fullness); bathing signifies inner cleansing that aligns the practitioner with a Rudra-sattva suitable for Rudra-loka.
Snāna functions like ritual purification before entering the ‘deva-sadas’; the tīrtha becomes the consecrating vessel enabling loka-eligibility.
Heavenly enjoyment is a karmaphala within saṃsāra; the verse implicitly distinguishes bhoga in Rudra-loka from the higher ‘my world’ promised elsewhere in the sequence.
After a twelve-day stay, one should bathe at the tīrtha; the merit grants joy in Rudra-worlds with Rudra’s maidens.
Following yields Rudra-loka enjoyment; omission forfeits that specific loka-fruit.
Delight in Rudra-lokas, attended by Rudra-kanyās.
151.68.0; 151.72.0
FAQs
It demonstrates the Purāṇic pattern of quantifying pilgrimage observances (e.g., twelve-day stays) and associating them with specific cosmological rewards.
The implied location is Maheśvara-kuṇḍa from the preceding verse; this verse continues the same tīrtha context.
The verse reinforces disciplined observance over time (dvādaśāha residence) as the central practical instruction.
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