Gokarṇa is a supremely sacred Śaiva kshetra on the western coast of Bhārata, in present-day Karnataka. It is the home of the Mahābalīśvara Śivaliṅga, one of the great svayambhū (self-manifested) liṅgas of Bhagavān Śiva. The Nārada Mahā Purāṇa places it among the great tīrthas that Vāsu tells to Mohinī. Its name means “cow’s ear”: go is cow and karṇa is ear.

The Mahābalīśvara liṅga

The presiding mūrti of Gokarṇa is Mahābalīśvara, the Īśvara of great strength. This Śivaliṅga is svayambhū. It came forth of its own divine will and was not set up by human hands. It is among the most ancient and powerful Śivaliṅgas in Bhārata.

The best-known account of Gokarṇa in the Purāṇas is about Rāvaṇa. He was doing extreme tapas and was carrying the Ātmaliṅga from Kailāsa to Laṅkā. The Ātmaliṅga is the most powerful liṅga and is called the very soul-form of Bhagavān Śiva. Through the help of Gaṇeśa and Bhagavān Vishṇu, it was set down at Gokarṇa. It became fixed in the earth at this spot for ever (Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarardha, Chapter 74).

Rāvaṇa’s tapas and the Prāṇaliṅga

The Śiva Purāṇa gives the full account of how the Mahābalīśvara liṅga was set up. Rāvaṇa wanted a supremely powerful Śivaliṅga for Laṅkā. He did fierce tapas at Gokarṇa. Bhagavān Śiva appeared and gave Rāvaṇa the Prāṇaliṅga. He gave it on one condition: it must not be set on the ground before Rāvaṇa reached Laṅkā.

The devas feared what would follow if Rāvaṇa kept this liṅga in Laṅkā. Gaṇeśa acted for them and appeared as a brāhmaṇa boy. Rāvaṇa needed to perform his sandhyā-vandana (the prayer at the turn of the day) and could not hold the liṅga. He handed it to the boy. The boy set the liṅga on the ground before Rāvaṇa came back. The liṅga became fixed and could not be moved at Gokarṇa. Rāvaṇa tried to pull it up with all his strength, and he left only the mark of his grip on it.

The liṅga that stayed fixed became the Mahābalīśvara of Gokarṇa (Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapters 8–10).

Sacred geography

The name Gokarṇa comes from the shape of the cape. The land curves at this point like the ear of a cow, and the cow is sacred to all dharma. The western sea washes against Gokarṇa (Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarardha, Chapter 74).

Merit of Gokarṇa darśana

The Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarardha, Chapter 74, says:

Darśana of Mahābalīśvara destroys brahmahatyā (the killing of a brāhmaṇa) and all the mahāpātakas (the great pāpas).
A bath in the sea at Gokarṇa with darśana of Mahābalīśvara gives Śiva-sāyujya (union with Bhagavān Śiva).
Living at Gokarṇa for one month equals ten thousand yajñas.
Those who die at Gokarṇa reach Śiva-loka and are not born again.

Gokarṇa in the Brahmoṭṭara Khaṇḍa

The Brahmoṭṭara Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa treats Gokarṇa as the supreme place for Bhagavān Śiva’s free grace. It is the kshetra where the power of the Caturdaśī tithi (the fourteenth lunar day) reaches its height. The Pañcākshara Māhātmya begins by naming Gokarṇa among the sacred kshetras where japa gives siddhi at once. The others are Prayāga, Pushkara, Kedāra, Setubandha and Naimiśāraṇya.

The Caturdaśī at Gokarṇa

The Gokarṇa Caturdaśī Māhātmya is one of the main teachings of the Brahmoṭṭara Khaṇḍa. On the Caturdaśī at Gokarṇa the power of the kshetra and the power of the tithi join. Together they act as a force that frees a person whatever his birth, varṇa, conduct or intention. Several accounts show this:

Sumitra was a brāhmaṇa girl who, through a fault in a past life, was born again as a cāṇḍālī. At Gokarṇa she heard by chance a fragment of a Purāṇa being told. This set her on the path to Parameśvara Loka (Chapters 2–3).
Vimardhana was a Kirāta king descended from a dog that had been near a Śiva-pūjā in a past life. He came close to Bhagavān Śiva’s worship by chance, and he met the Gokarṇa Caturdaśī. Together these gave him liberation over many lives (Chapter 4).
Maṃdara and Piṃgalā were a hardened wrongdoer and a gaṇikā (a courtesan). They died at Gokarṇa on the Caturdaśī, crying out Bhagavān Śiva’s name. They were born again as the prince Bhadrāyu and the princess Kīrtimālī, and in the end reached Śivaloka (Chapters 10–14).

Gokarṇa as a place to hear the Purāṇa

Gokarṇa is also one of the best places for Purāṇa-śravaṇa (hearing the sacred accounts). The account of Vidura’s wife shows this. At Gokarṇa she happened to hear a fragment of a description of naraka from a paurāṇika (a reciter of Purāṇas). That one chance hearing began her complete change and her liberation in the end (Chapter 22).

The accounts in this section are from the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Uttarārdha, Chapters 2–4, 10–14 and 22.

Sources

Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarardha, Chapter 74
Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, Uttarārdha, Chapters 1–3, 10–14, 20, 22
Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, Brahmoṭṭara Khaṇḍa (Gokarṇa Caturdaśī Māhātmya; Pañcākshara Māhātmya)
Śiva Purāṇa, Koṭi Rudra Saṃhitā, Chapters 8–10

Gokarṇa Kshetra