Gautama and the Origin of the Godāvarī
In the Daṇḍaka forest of Bhārata-varsha lived the ṛshi Gautama, who gained a vara (boon) of grain from Brahmā. With it he fed all who came to him through a drought of twelve years. When the drought ended, the guest ṛshis wished to leave and made a cow by māyā (illusion). When Gautama touched it with water, it fell as if dead, and the guests used this as a reason to refuse his food and go. Gautama took the atonement (prāyaścitta) seriously and performed a hundred years of tapas in the Himālaya to please Bhagavān Śiva. Bhagavān Śiva gave him a lock of his matted hair (jaṭā), from which the water of the Gaṅgā came. That water raised the fallen cow, and where it flowed a great river arose in Daṇḍaka. This is the Godāvarī, and this is the account of her origin in the Varāha Purāṇa.
Gautama’s vara and the āśrama in Daṇḍaka
In the Daṇḍaka forest of Bhārata-varsha lived a brāhmaṇa named Gautama, who practised fierce tapas. Brahmā was full of joy at his tapas. He appeared and told him to ask for a vara. Gautama asked for something simple: “O Padmasambhava! Give me some grains at once.” Brahmā granted it.
With those wonderful grains Gautama set up a great āśrama on Śata-śṛṅga, the Hundred-Peak mountain. The grains sprouted at dawn each day and were fully ripe by midday. From them Gautama fed brāhmaṇas generously every day as his ātithya (hospitality). (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
The twelve-year drought
After some time a terrible drought (anāvṛshṭi) of twelve years came upon the land, so severe that the body shuddered. All the maharshis who lived in Daṇḍaka, tormented by thirst and hardship, came to Gautama. Gautama saw them and welcomed them with full respect: “O best of munis! O sons of great ṛshis! All of you stay in my āśrama.”
They stayed there through the whole drought, eating in his hall every day, until the great scarcity (kśāma) passed. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
The plan of the guest ṛshis
When the drought ended, all the brāhmaṇas turned their minds to pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā). Marīci, the best young son of a muni (paramamunikumāra), saw the difficulty and spoke privately to Śāṇḍilya: “Śāṇḍilya, I will tell you something good. Your father is the maharshi Gautama. We cannot go to our forest of tapas (tapovana) to perform tapas without his knowledge.”
At this the other munis laughed: “What? Because we ate his food, have we sold our bodies to him?” They decided to find an excuse to leave. They made a māyā cow (māyā-gāvī), a divine illusory cow, and let it loose in Gautama’s feeding hall. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
The false cow-killing
The illusory cow was moving about in the hall (śālā) when Gautama saw it. He took water in his hand and said firmly, “O Rudra! Go away!” The moment the drops of water touched the māyā cow, it fell down as if dead. The munis, who had been watching and waiting for exactly this, declared: “As long as the pāpa of cow-killing (go-hatyā) stays in your body, we cannot eat your food.” (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
Gautama’s answer
Gautama knew that dharma required him to accept the atonement whatever his intention had been. He joined his palms, bowed before the munis who were leaving, and asked them earnestly: “O you rich in tapas (tāpodhanas)! Tell me the atonement for this killing of a cow (go-vadha). Do not delay.”
The ṛshis replied: “The nature of this cow is that of amṛta. It only seems to have fainted. If you can immerse it in the water of the Gaṅgā (Gaṅgā-jala), it will rise again. There is no doubt. The atonement for a dead cow is one thing. For a living cow that has only fallen, this vrata is enough. Do not be angry.” Having said this, they left. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
Tapas in the Himālaya and the grace of Śiva
The wise Gautama went at once to the Himavat range to perform tapas for Bhagavān Śiva. He wished to please him and also to bring the Gaṅgā into his keeping. He worshipped Bhagavān Śiva with great intensity for one hundred years. Bhagavān Śiva was pleased and appeared and said: “O Suvrata! Ask for a vara.”
Gautama said: “Give me the ascetic devī (tapasvinī) Gaṅgā who lives in your jaṭās. May this holy Bhāgīrathī come with me.” (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
The river is released
At Gautama’s request, Bhagavān Śiva took out one lock of his matted hair (jaṭā-mukta) and gave it to him. Gautama took it and carried it back to the place where the māyā cow lay. He poured that water over the fallen cow. Touched by the sacred water (puṇya-jala), the cow rose up and became a woman, who then went away. In that very place a great holy river appeared. Its waters were pure and holy, and its stones and bathing steps (ghāṭas) were auspicious. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
The saptarshis arrive
The seven great maharshis (saptarshis) were in their vimāna in the sky. They saw this wonder and came down joyfully and called out: “Gautama! Well done! Well done! Who among the good is your equal? You have brought Jāhnavī-devī down into the Daṇḍaka forest!” (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
Gautama understands, and the śāpa
When the saptarshis praised him, Gautama thought: “What is this? How did this pāpa of cow-killing come to me?” Then he understood that the whole event had been planned by the māyā of the guest ṛshis. In righteous anger he spoke a śāpa (a curse) on them:
“May you all become wearers of false jaṭās and false vratas, covered in ash, outside the Vedic path, fallen from Vedic karma!”
The saptarshis heard his fierce words and answered: “May your words not be wasted. But may the best of brāhmaṇas always be left out of this śāpa!” The seven then said: “In the Kali age, those of this line of ours will have an appearance like yours. They will wear jaṭās as crowns, take on a death-like dress (preta-vesha) at will, and carry false marks (māyā-liṅgas). Let your grace be given to protect them.” (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
The name Godāvarī
The saptarshis declared: “This river will also have a second name (gauṇa): Godāvarī, meaning ‘she who was given by the cow’ or ‘she whose gift (dāna) is the cow.'” They said: “Those who come to this river and give a cow as dāna, or give other gifts with faith (śraddhā), will gain joy together with the devas.” (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
The greatness of the Godāvarī
When Guru (Bṛhaspati) is in the sign Siṃha, a person who goes to this river with faith, bathes by the prescribed method (vidhi-pūrvaka), and offers tarpaṇa (offering of water) to the pitṛ-devas (the ancestors) will see even those ancestors who have fallen into naraka go to svarga. Those who are already in svarga will gain mukti (liberation). There is no doubt (saṃśaya). Gautama himself will gain great fame (kīrti) and lasting mukti. Bhagavān Śiva, together with Umā-devī, will live for ever on Mount Kailāsa. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
The sequel: Śiva’s Pāśupata teaching
After the origin of the Godāvarī, the gathered brāhmaṇas came to Bhagavān Śiva with a further question: “O Deva! You made a separate śāstra to mislead the world. What was the reason?”
Bhagavān Śiva then told how the Pāśupata teaching, the niḥśvāsa-saṃhitā, arose. It came from the śāpa that Gautama spoke on the ṛshis who had left. Bhagavān Śiva himself composed it as a merciful allowance for those who would fall from the Vedic path in the Kali age. This teaching is part of the larger vision that Agastya received in Ilāvṛta-varsha. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71)
Sources
- Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 71