Śālagrāma – Anuśīlana.in

pāṣāṇa-dhātu-mṛd-dāru-sikatā-maṇi-lekhajā

pāṣāṇa-dhātu-mṛd-dāru-sikatā-maṇi-lekhajā |
saptadā te pratikṛtir acalā vā calā prabho ||
śālagrāma-śilā cātha yatra kutrāpy avasthitā |
yādṛśī tādṛśī vāpi bhaktair bhaktyābhipūjitā ||
bhavatādhiṣṭhitā sarvā sac-cid-ānanda-rūpiṇī |
tvam eva kathayase sadbhis tasmai tubhyaṁ namo namaḥ ||
(Kṛṣṇa-līlā-stava: 409–411 (106))

“Made of stone, metal, earth, wood, sand, jewel, or paint—your image of seven types—[which can also be] immobile or mobile—O Lord, and a Śālagrāma stone wheresoever and howsoever it may be situated, can be worshiped with bhakti by bhaktas. All of them [i.e., all of these types of deities] are said by the sat (1) to be inhabited by you, (2) to be of the nature of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss [i.e., to not be seen as being made merely of stone, wood, etc.], and (3) to be you yourself. Unto you—he [who personally manifests himself in all these forms, I offer] obeisance and obeisance.”

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evaṁ tad-āśraya-rūpasya vilakṣaṇa-prakāśa-sthānatvād

evaṁ tad-āśraya-rūpasya vilakṣaṇa-prakāśa-sthānatvād eva śrī-viṣṇor vyāpakatve’pi śālagrāmādiṣu nirdhāraṇam | tac ca puruṣavan nāntaryāmi-dṛṣṭy-apekṣam, kintu svabhāva-nirdeśa-param eva, tan-nivāsa-kṣetrādīnāṁ mahātīrthatvāpādanādinā kīkaṭādīnām api kṛtārthatva-kathanāt | … pādme—‘śālagrāma-samīpe tu krośa-mātraṁ samantataḥ | kīkaṭe’pi mṛto yāti vaikuṇṭha-bhuvanaṁ naraḥ ||’ iti |

(Bhakti Sandarbha: 294)

“Although Śrī Bhagavān is all-pervading, there is determination [of his presence in particular] in Śālagrāmas and so forth because of [Śālagrāmas and so forth] being places of the special manifestation of his form as their [viz., prema-bhaktas’] shelter. This [conclusion], furthermore, is not based on vision of the Inner Regulator (Antaryāmī) as in a human being [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān’s presence in Śālagrāma and so on is not understood to be because of his being the omnipresent Inner Regulator of every living being], but rather is based solely on ascertainment of his nature [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān is understood to be naturally manifest in special objects of worship like Śālagrāmas in a special way, that is, under the pull of his bhaktas’ bhakti], as per the narrations of the successfulness even of the Kīkaṭas and others [i.e., other non-Aryans] as a result of the transformation into grand tīrthas of regions and other places of their [i.e., a Śālagrāma and so forth’s] residence. … In Padma Purāṇa [it is said in this regard], ‘A human being who dies even in [the region of] Kīkaṭa in the vicinity of a Śālagrāma—anywhere within a krośa [i.e., roughly two miles]—goes to the world of Vaikuṇṭha.’”

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śālagrāmādikaṁ tat-tad-bhagavad-ākārādhiṣṭhānam iti cintyam

śālagrāmādikaṁ tat-tad-bhagavad-ākārādhiṣṭhānam iti cintyam, ākāra-vailakṣaṇyāt, śālagrāma-śilā yatra tatra sannihito hariḥ ity-ādy-ukteḥ | tatra ca sveṣṭākārasyaiva bhagavato’dhiṣṭhānaṁ suṣṭhu siddhikaram, tasminn evāyatnatas tadīya-prākaṭyāt, ‘mūrtyābhimatayātmanaḥ’ ity ukteḥ |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 286)

“A Śālagrāma and so forth [e.g., a Govardhana-śilā] is to be conceived of as a dwelling place (adhiṣṭhāna) of a particular appearance (ākāra) [i.e., specific figure] of Bhagavān because of dissimilarity of appearance [i.e., because Śālagrāma-śilās, Govardhana-śilās, and other such objects of worship do not resemble Bhagavān’s personal figures of Kṛṣṇa, Nārāyaṇa, and so on], and because of statements such as, ‘Where there is a Śālagrāma stone, there Hari is present.’ Therein, furthermore, [to meditate on a Śālagrāma and so forth as] a dwelling place (adhiṣṭhāna) of one’s own desired appearance of Bhagavān [i.e., one Iṣṭa-devatā] is highly efficacious because of his [i.e., one’s Iṣṭa-devatā’s] manifestation without effort [on the part of the sādhaka] there in particular [i.e., in that Śālagrāma or other object of worship], as per the statement [in SB 11.3.48], ‘[Worship the Supreme Puruṣa] In the form wished for by oneself.’”

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