Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Tirtha Circuit, Shloka 44

Prahlada’s Pilgrimage Circuit: Tirtha-Mahatmya from Naimisha to Rudrakoti and Shalagrama

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वार्ऽच्य च पितृन् सोमं संपूज्य भक्तिततः क्षीरिकावासमभ्येत्य स्नानं चक्रे महायशाः

Transliteration

tatra snātvār'cya ca pitṛn somaṃ saṃpūjya bhaktitataḥ kṣīrikāvāsamabhyetya snānaṃ cakre mahāyaśāḥ

Translation

maharṣayaścāraṇāśca dṛṣṭvā gajavimokṣaṇam | vismayotphūllanayanāḥ saṃstuvanti janārdanam ||

Speakers

• Narratorial voice continuing the itinerary description within the Saromahatmya.

Primary Deities

• Soma (Chandra)
• Pitrs (ancestral deities/collective)

Key Themes

• Pitṛ-tarpaṇa / ancestral rites at tirthas
• Devotional worship (bhakti)
• Pilgrimage as sequential purification (multiple snānas)
• Tirtha network mapping (place-to-place movement)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

Why are Pitṛ rites performed specifically at Soma-tīrtha?

Soma is closely linked with nourishment, the lunar cycle, and the Pitṛ-world in many Purāṇic and Smṛti frameworks. A Soma-associated tirtha is therefore an especially fitting locus for pitṛ-arcana/tarpaṇa, integrating cosmic symbolism (Moon) with ancestral obligation (ṛṇa to Pitṛs).

What is the function of repeated bathing (snāna) across successive sites?

Each tirtha is treated as a distinct ‘ritual field’ with its own merit (puṇya). Bathing at each station is not redundant; it is the formal act that ‘activates’ the tirtha’s promised fruit and marks transition from one sacred micro-region to the next.

How should we understand ‘Kṣīrikā-vāsa’ in the Vāmana Purāṇa’s geographic style?

Names like Kṣīrikā-vāsa typically preserve local cult-memory—either a goddess/river-personification (Kṣīrikā) or a site famed for milk-like waters/offerings (kṣīra). The Purāṇa’s method is to sacralize such localities by embedding them in an authoritative pilgrimage itinerary.