Arbuda
Arbuda
Arbuda is a holy mountain of Kumāra-dvīpa, one of the nine dvīpas of Bhārata-varsha. The Vāmana Purāṇa names it among the lovely mountains of that land, besides the seven kula-parvatas (chief mountain ranges). On Arbuda abides Trisauvarṇeśvara, the īśvara of Arbuda, and there lies the sacred lake Nārīhrada, where Śaṅkara is worshipped. Prahlāda came there on his pilgrimage to the tīrthas, and Bhagavān Vishṇu, as Vāmana, named the Arbuda kshetra as a place where he himself is present in the form of Trisauparṇa.
Among the mountains of Kumāra-dvīpa
The maharshis of a forest in Magadha described Bhārata-varsha and its nine dvīpas to the rākshasa king Sukeśī. Of Kumāra-dvīpa, the dvīpa “where we are”, they said that its seven kula-parvatas are Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Śuktimān, Ṛksha, Vindhya and Pāriyātra. Besides these chief mountains there are other lovely mountains of great extent, in hundreds and thousands, and Arbuda is named among them, with Kolāhala, Mandara, Maināka, Govardhana, Pushpagiri, Raivata, Ṛshyamūka, Gomanta, Citrakūṭa, Śrīparvata and others.
Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 13
Trisauvarṇeśvara and Nārīhrada
On his long tīrthayātrā (pilgrimage to the holy places), the great devotee Prahlāda bathed in the Narmadā and worshipped Vāsudeva, then bathed in the Kokāmukha tīrtha and worshipped the mūrti of Bhūvarāha. From there he went to see Trisauvarṇeśvara, the īśvara of Arbuda. There he bathed in Nārīhrada and worshipped Śaṅkara, and then went on to Kāliñjara to have darśana of Nīlakaṇṭheśvara. Pulastya Maharshi closes the account of the yātrā with its phalaśruti: a man who sings it, hears it, or gives it to others is freed from all pāpas (sins).
Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 57
Bhagavān Vāmana as Trisauparṇa
After his upanayana, Bhagavān Vāmana told his guru Bharadvāja Ṛshi of the holy places in which he dwells. Among them he named the Arbuda kshetra: there he is present as Trisauparṇa.
All these places of his presence, said Bhagavān Vāmana, are eternal, ancient and holy; they give dharma, they are full of tejas (divine radiance), they destroy pāpa, and they are always to be praised. Devas, humans and sādhyas who practise darśana (seeing), sparśana (touching), kīrtana (praising) and smaraṇa (remembering) of these forms gain all four purushārthas: dharma, artha, kāma and moksha. “This is certain.”
Source: Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 63
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 13, 57, 63