[Advaita-l] Locations of pañcāyatana śilās

[Mikael Aktor via Advaita-l]

Dear friends

I am doing research on the pañcāyatana pūjā. As part of this I want to know the exact locations where the five śilās are collected. Some of these places are well described, but I have three doubts:

1) The exact location where the red śoṇabhadra śilās are collected. It is described as the area in Bihar where the Son River flows into the Gaṅgā, but is there a more precise description? A town or city?

2) I have been told that the suvarṇamukhi śilā is collected from Swarnamukhi River, Andhra Pradesh, near the town of Srikalahasti. Is that correct?

3) The crystal / sphaṭika is said to originate from Vallam Town near Thanjavur, but some say that it is no longer found there. Is that correct, and if it is, where is the crystal collected now?

Thank you in advance. All kinds of help or advice in this matter is highly appreciated.

Best regards,
Mikael Aktor

Associate Professor
Department of History – Study of Religions
University of Southern Denmark
aktor at sdu.dk<mailto:aktor at sdu.dk>