Historical Geography of Ancient India c7.559

c7.559

Śrīparvata.—The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (LVII, 15), the Kūrma Purāṇa (30. 45-48; cf. Agni Purāṇa 109), and the Saura Purāṇa (69. 22) refer to this mountain. It is also called Śrīśaila. According to the Padma Purāṇa (Ch. 21, śl. 11-12) the summit of this holy mountain is beautiful where the deity called Mallikārjuna resides. This lofty rock overhangs the river Kṛṣṇā in the Kurnool district. It is usually identified with Siriṭana of the Nasik Praśasti. It is the site of a famous temple called Mallikārjuna, one of the twelve liṅga-shrines (A.S.S.I., Vol. I, p. 90; A.S.W.I., p. 223). The Agni Purāṇa (CXIII, 3, 4) places it on the river Kāverī. According to it, it was dedicated to the goddess Śrī by Viṣṇu because she had once performed some austerities (Arch. Sur. of South India, by Sewell, Vol. I, p. 90; Pargiter, Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, p. 290). The introductory verses of Bāṇa’s Harṣacarita mention Śrīparvata which is the name of a range of mountains in Teliṅgana. (Harṣacarita, Tr. by Cowell and Thomas, p. 3 f.n.).