Saukaraka is a sacred kshetra (holy ground) on the Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā. It is the place where Bhagavān Varāha lifted Bhūdevī, the Earth, out of the primordial waters. The Varāha Purāṇa (Chapters 137–138) calls it a place of supreme moksha (liberation).

Going there frees ten earlier and fifteen later generations of a pilgrim’s family. Seven tīrthas stand in the kshetra: Cakra, Rūpa, Yoga, Soma, Gṛdhravata, Śākhōṭaka and Vaivasvata. Each has its own signs, seasonal marks and promised merit.

Sacred history

Saukaraka takes its name from sūkara, the boar. Here Bhagavān Varāha, the Boar avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, rose from the great flood with Bhūdevī on his tusks. He set her back upon the waters and put the Earth in her rightful place. The Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā flows here, and this gives the tīrthas of Saukaraka great and added power.

Bhagavān Varāha himself teaches Bhūdevī about the glory of this kshetra. The place where he first raised her in his arms is also the place where he most wishes to be worshipped. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

Merit of Saukaraka

The Varāha Purāṇa states the power of Saukaraka plainly:

Visiting the kshetra frees ten earlier generations and fifteen later generations of the pilgrim’s family.
Merely seeing the face of Bhagavān Vishṇu at Saukaraka gives seven births in a row in rich families that follow dharma, as his devotees.
Dying at any of the tīrthas here frees the ātmā (soul) from saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death). The pilgrim reaches Śveta-dvīpa in the four-armed form of the attendants of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
Even animals and birds that die here by chance, without seeking moksha, are born as humans and in time reach moksha. The kāṭuka-piṭṭa bird, the fox and the vulture, told of below, show this.

(Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

The seven tīrthas of Saukaraka

1. Cakra-tīrtha

It is named for the Sudarśana cakra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, which is set up here. Merit: A devotee who bathes here in purity on Vaiśākha Dvādaśī is born again for 10,000 years in a great kula (noble family) as a devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu. He is free from pāpa (sin) and is given dīkshā (initiation). This cycle brings him back in time to Saukaraka. He dies at the Cakra-tīrtha and reaches Śveta-dvīpa with four arms, holding the bow, the cakra, the gadā (mace) and the khaḍga (sword). (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

2. Rūpa-tīrtha

It is named for the divine rūpa (form) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Sign: A small red henna tree (goranta), not very tall, stands to the south of this tīrtha. It blooms in the month of Vaiśākha and again on Kārtika Dvādaśī.

Merit: Bathing here on Kārtika Śukla Dvādaśī frees ten earlier and twelve later generations of the devotee’s family. The water drops that remain on the devotee’s body after the bath count as years. For that many years he is a devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu. He has beauty, wealth, virtue, a devoted spouse and a giving nature. He is free from anger and passion, has discernment, and loves the Bhāgavatas. A devotee who dies here, after saṃsāra has been used up through the grace of the kshetra, reaches Śveta-dvīpa. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

3. Yoga-tīrtha

This is the tīrtha of the yoga-śakti of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Even the devas do not know it. Sign: On Mārgaśīrsha Śukla Caturdaśī a sudden, full darkness comes over the tīrtha area. It is a darkness at midday that has no cause that can be seen. The tīrtha measures 3,303 cubits (mūrā).

Merit: Bathing here brings rebirth for 11,000 years as a devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu, free from anger and violence and devoted to ahiṃsā (non-harm). One day’s stay at Yoga-tīrtha breaks all the bonds of saṃsāra. A yoga practitioner who dies here reaches Śveta-dvīpa as a yoga-siddha. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

4. Soma-tīrtha

At this tīrtha Bhagavān Candra (Soma) performed his great tapas (austerity).

The tapas of Candra. Soma stood on one leg for 5,000 years. He held his arms raised for 5,000 years, his head bowed for 5,000 years and his head raised for 5,000 years. He lived on wind alone for 5,000 years, and took no food at all for another 5,000 years. This was 30,000 years of austerity in all, wholly given to the worship of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared and showed Soma his form. He gave Soma these varas (boons):

unceasing bhakti towards Bhagavān Vishṇu for as long as the worlds last;
his form to be seen across all seven dvīpas;
his amṛta to be drunk in yajñas by brāhmaṇas, as Bhagavān Vishṇu’s own gift to the devas;
the piṇḍa-pitṛ-yajña to be done properly on amāvāsyā (the new-moon day), when Soma is dark;
Soma to become the master of the oshadhis (healing plants).

(Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

Sign: On Vaiśākha Kṛshṇa Dvādaśī, at night, in the dark of the waning moon, the earth around this tīrtha glows with moonlight, though no moon can be seen in the sky. A person who stands there sees his own shadow without seeing the moon.

Merit: A fast of four days (ashṭama-bhakta, taking a meal only every eighth meal-time), followed by a bath here, gives 3,300 years as a brahma-jñānī devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu. He has wealth, virtue and discernment, and the power to cross the ocean of saṃsāra even while living in it. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

The fox’s moksha at Soma-tīrtha. In Tretā Yuga, Prince Soma-datta of Kāmpilya, son of King Brahma-datta, hunted in the forest on amāvāsyā. He sought game for his father’s śrāddha. He found no deer. To his right he met a she-fox (nakka) and struck her with an arrow. The wounded fox suffered great pain and breathed her last on the bank of Soma-tīrtha. By the power of the tīrtha she was born again as a beautiful princess named Manoramā in the royal family of Kāntī. She had wide eyes, spotless character and mastery of the sixty-four arts. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

5. Gṛdhravata-tīrtha

It is named for the holy spot under a banyan tree (vaṭa) where vultures (gṛdhra) come. It lies east of Soma-tīrtha.

Merit: Bathing here and drinking the water gives 9,900 years in Indra-loka among the devas. On return, the devotee is born as a devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu, free from all the ties of saṃsāra. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

The vulture’s moksha at Gṛdhravata. After he shot the fox, Prince Soma-datta of Kāmpilya came to Gṛdhravata to rest. He saw a vulture sitting on a pīpal branch and shot it with one arrow. The bird fell dead at the foot of the banyan tree. By the power of the tīrtha the vulture was born again as a prince in the royal family of Kaliṅga. He was handsome, learned in all the śāstras and skilled in government, and free from tiredness and sorrow. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

By the arrangement of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the two royal families, Kāntī and Kaliṅga, were joined in marriage. Their story and their moksha at Saukaraka are told in the account of Kaliṅga-rāja and Manoramā. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

6. Śākhōṭaka-tīrtha

It is named for the śākhōṭaka tree that marks the spot.

Merit: Bathing here gives 11,000 years in Nandana-vana, the pleasure forest of Indra, with full enjoyment of svarga (heaven). On return, the devotee is born in a great family as a devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

7. Vaivasvata-tīrtha (Āditya-tīrtha)

It is named for Bhagavān Sūrya (Āditya, Vivasvanta, Vaivasvata), who performed his great tapas here.

The tapas of Sūrya. Sūrya kept the cāndrāyaṇa vrata (a vow that follows the moon’s phases) without fail for 10,000 years. Then he lived on wind alone (vāyu-bhoktā) for 7,000 years. This was 17,000 years of tapas in all, wholly given to the worship of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Bhagavān Vishṇu was pleased and gave him a vara: a son and a daughter, Yama and Yamunā, who would uphold dharma in the worlds and make the earth holy. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

Merit: A fast of two days followed by a bath at Vaivasvata-tīrtha gives 10,000 years in Āditya-loka. One who dies here never goes to the realm of Yama. A fast of fifteen days followed by death here brings direct life in Vishṇu-loka. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

The kāṭuka-piṭṭa bird. At this tīrtha an insect-eating bird (kāṭuka-piṭṭa) fell, dying of indigestion. Quarrelling boys threw it into the holy water. It reached moksha without seeking it and was born again as a pious Vaiśya boy. On Kārtika Dvādaśī the boy told his parents about his past life. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

Kārtika Dvādaśī at Saukaraka

The month of Kārtika and the tithi (lunar day) Dvādaśī have special power at Saukaraka. Several accounts in Chapters 137–138 meet on this date. The kāṭuka-piṭṭa boy told of his past life on Kārtika Dvādaśī. The Kaliṅga prince and Manoramā made their pilgrimage here and learned the truth of their past lives. Pilgrims who arrive, bathe, worship and die here on Kārtika Dvādaśī reach Śveta-dvīpa directly. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

Daily recitation

The Varāha Purāṇa ends its section on Saukaraka with a phalaśruti (the promise of fruit). One who reads this chapter on Saukaraka every day at dawn is counted as having meditated on Bhagavān Vishṇu for twelve years. He will not be born again in saṃsāra, and he frees ten generations of his ancestors and ten of his descendants. (Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138)

Sources

Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 137–138