Shloka 31

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

Devanagari script

गोमत्यां छादितगदं शङ्खोद्धारे च शङ्खिनम् सुनेत्रं सैन्धवारण्ये शूरं शूरपुरे स्थितम्

Transliteration

gomatyāṃ chāditagadaṃ śaṅkhoddhāre ca śaṅkhinam sunetraṃ saindhavāraṇye śūraṃ śūrapure sthitam

Translation

دریائے گوماتی پر وہ ‘چھادِت گَد’ کہلاتے ہیں؛ اور شَنکھوُدھّار میں ‘شَنکھِن’ (شنکھ بردار) ہیں۔ سیندھَو کے جنگل میں ‘سُنیتر’ اور شُورپور میں قائم ‘شُور’ ہیں۔

Speakers

• Narrator/teacher continuing the Brahmin-addressed itinerary of Vishnu’s shrine-locations

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Hari/Narayana)

Key Themes

• Hydro-sacrality (river-based worship)
• Toponymic myth-hints (Śaṅkhoddhāra as ‘conch-retrieval’ site)
• Localization of iconography (conch/mace epithets)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

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

FAQs

What might ‘Śaṅkhoddhāra’ indicate as a tīrtha-name?

The compound literally means ‘the raising/retrieval of the conch’, suggesting an etiological legend: a conch (śaṅkha)—Vishnu’s emblem—was recovered, manifested, or ritually ‘raised’ there. Even when the narrative is not quoted, the place-name preserves the mythic memory.

How should ‘Chāditagada’ be understood—does it describe an icon?

Yes, it most naturally reads as a local iconographic epithet: a Vishnu image distinguished by a ‘covered/veiled mace’ (gada). Such descriptors often mark a specific murti-type, ritual covering practice, or a shrine-specific tradition remembered through the name.

Why does the verse alternate between river, tīrtha, forest, and city?

Because the Purāṇic map is not purely political; it is sacral-ecological. Rivers (Gomatī), forests (Saindhavāraṇya), and cities (Śūrapura) are all treated as valid loci of divine installation and pilgrimage merit.