Transforming the seat of the goddess into Visnu's place: The complex layering of theologies in the 'Karavira Mahatmya'

This is a study of a medieval Sanskrit text called the Karav ira Mahatmya and how it constructs the greatness of Kolhapur, a small city located in southern Maharashtra. Home to the Hindu goddess Sri Mah alaks&dotbelow;mi and her co-deities Sr i Mahakali and Sri Mahasarasvat i, Kolhapur is a major sakta pit&dotbelow;ha in the sacred geography of Maharashtra. Rather than adopting the Sakta theological perspective implied in this configuration, however, the Karavira Mahatmya incorporates themes and motifs from the Vais&dotbelow;n&dotbelow;ava, Saiva and Sakta theological traditions. In doing so, it creates a multivalent theological construction of the city's mythistory, with precedence given to the Vais&dotbelow;n&dotbelow;ava perspective.; The approach adopted here considers the Karavira Mahatmya to be the product of a thoughtful and erudite author. Instead of deconstructing the text, this analysis examines the narrative flow and its resonances within the wider pur an&dotbelow;ic tradition to which it belongs.; Following the narrative structure of the Karavira Mahatmya, the analysis begins with a consideration of the three frame stories that trace its narrative genealogy. Next, it considers how the city is the duplication of K asi, with its strong Saiva ethos. The following chapter considers the Vais&dotbelow;n&dotbelow;ava ethos that comes to the forefront in a story about Parasara, who performs tapas in Prayaga in order to convince Vis&dotbelow;n&dotbelow;u to grant him a son, Vyasa, who will transmit Vedic learning in the Kali Yuga. Lastly, the analysis takes up the third and final move of the narrative: the reinterpretation of the Sakta theological vision of the temple as the masculine Trimurti. Reminiscent of the three-fold narrative structure in the Dev i Mahatmya, the members of the Trimurti defeat the family of Kol asura in Gayaks&dotbelow;etra. This conflict culminates in a battle between Sri Mah alaks&dotbelow;mi and Kolasura ending with an iconographic pose evoking Mahis&dotbelow; asuramardini and giving the city its modern name, Kolhapur.; By reading the Karavira Mah atmya as a sustained narrative grounded in a three-fold structure, the power of the multivalent vision adds layer upon layer of symbolism and meaning to Kolhapur. This enhances Kolhapur's claim to be a place more sacred than Kasi itself.