Vamana Purana — Prahlada's Tirtha Circuit, Shloka 49

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

Devanagari script

स्नात्वा कोकामुके तीर्थे संपूज्य धरणीधरम् त्रिसौवर्णं महादेवमर्बुदेशं जगाम ह

Transliteration

snātvā kokāmuke tīrthe saṃpūjya dharaṇīdharam trisauvarṇaṃ mahādevamarbudeśaṃ jagāma ha

Translation

کوکامکھ تیرتھ میں غسل کرکے اور تریسَوَرْن نام سے مشہور دھَرَنی دھر مہادیو کی باقاعدہ پوجا کرکے، وہ پھر اربُد دیس کو گیا۔

Speakers

• Narratorial voice within the tirtha-itinerary (speaker not explicit in the given excerpt)

Primary Deities

• Shiva

Key Themes

• Tirtha Yatra (pilgrimage itinerary)
• Ritual bathing (snāna) as purification
• Local epithets of Śiva and regional Śaiva cults
• Sacred geography mapping through sequential travel

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What is the function of this verse within Vāmana Purāṇa’s geography-oriented sections?

It acts as a waypoint in a sequential pilgrimage map: the pilgrim performs snāna and pūjā at a named tīrtha (Kokāmukha), venerates a locally-titled Śiva (Trisauvarṇa/Dharaṇīdhara), and then proceeds to the next region (Arbuda). This is characteristic of Purāṇic “itinerary geography,” where sanctity is encoded as a route.

Who is “Dharaṇīdhara” here—Viṣṇu or Śiva?

Although Dharaṇīdhara can be used for Viṣṇu in other contexts, the verse explicitly apposes it with “Mahādeva” and “Trisauvarṇa,” making it a Śaiva designation at this site: Śiva as the cosmic supporter/stabilizer of the earth.

What does “Trisauvarṇa” likely indicate?

It is best read as a local cult-title—“threefold golden”—possibly referring to a liṅga, icon, or ritual offering tradition associated with gold (suvarṇa) in three modes/parts. In tīrtha catalogues, such epithets often preserve regional liturgical memory rather than abstract theology.