Kolāhala
Kolāhala
Kolāhala is a mountain of Bhārata-varsha. The Vāmana Purāṇa names it first among the many mountains of Kumāra-dvīpa that stand besides the seven kula-parvatas (chief mountain ranges). It also tells that the apsarā Ghṛtācī and the deva-śilpī Viśvakarmā, who was then living in the form of a vānara because of a muni’s śāpa (curse), stayed together for a long time in the caves of Kolāhala’s slopes. From there they went on to the Vindhya, and in time their son Nala was born.
Kolāhala among the mountains of Kumāra-dvīpa
When the rākshasa king Sukeśī asked the ṛshis about the world, they told him that Bhārata-varsha is divided into nine dvīpas, and that the one where they lived is Kumāra-dvīpa. Its seven kula-parvatas are Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Śuktimān, Ṛksha, Vindhya and Pāriyātra. Besides these, the ṛshis said, there are hundreds and thousands of other lovely mountains of great extent. Of these they named Kolāhala first, and then Vaibhrāja, Mandara, Durdura, Vātandhama, Vaidyuta, Maināka, Sarasa, Tuṅgaprastha, Nāgagiri, Govardhana, Ujjāyana, Pushpagiri, Arbuda, Raivata, Ṛshyamūka, Gomanta, Citrakūṭa, Kṛtasmara, Śrīparvata and Koṅkaṇa. Together with these mountain regions, many janapadas (countries) arose.
Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 13
Ghṛtācī and Viśvakarmā on Kolāhala
King Daṇḍa told this account to Arajā, the daughter of Śukrācārya, as part of the account of Citrāṅgadā. Long before, the muni Ṛtadhvaja had pronounced a śāpa on Viśvakarmā, the father of Citrāṅgadā, by which he became a vānara. When at last Viśvakarmā made himself known to the muni and asked to be freed, Ṛtadhvaja told him the end of the śāpa: “On the day you beget a mighty son by Ghṛtācī, on that day your monkeyhood will end.”
Soon after, Ghṛtācī rose into the path of the sky, and the great vānara followed her. When he reached her, she knew him to be Viśvakarmā and desired him. The two then sported freely in the caves of the slopes of the Kolāhala mountain, delighting each other. After a long time they came from there to the Vindhya mountain, and later to the Sapta-Godāvara kshetra. In time, at that Godāvarī tīrtha, Ghṛtācī gave birth to a son named Nala. As soon as the child was born, Viśvakarmā left the vānara form, took his own form again and embraced his daughter Citrāṅgadā.
Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 39
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 13, 39