Govinda-tīrtha
Govinda-tīrtha · go-vinda-tīrtha, “the tīrtha of Govinda, he who obtained the cow”
Siddheśvara has other meanings too: see all meanings of Siddheśvara.
Govinda-tīrtha is a tīrtha on the Gautamī, the Godāvarī, at the place where Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas, praised Bhagavān Śiva as Someśvara so that the kingdom of Indra (Devendra) might be stable. Its deity is Siddheśvara, a liṅga worshipped by the devas. It lies with Pūrṇatīrtha, at the confluence of the river Maṅgalā, and beyond it lie Indratīrtha and the Bārhaspatya tīrtha. Brahmā tells Nārada its account in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa: how Indra, ousted from his kingdom again and again, came to the Gautamī with Bṛhaspati, praised Bhagavān Vishṇu and Bhagavān Śiva, and received from Hari and Hara together a kingdom that would never fall again. Bath, dāna and every act of puṇya (merit) in these tīrthas bear everlasting fruit, and they are very dear to the pitṛs.
Indra’s three falls
Through the ripening of past karma, Indra, the thousand-eyed, had been ousted from his place three times: once by Nahusha, after the slaying of Vṛtra; once on the killing of Sindhusena; and once when he violated Ahalyā. Remembering these things, Indra grieved and said to Bṛhaspati, master of speech: “Why am I ousted from my kingdom again and again? It is far better to have no glory at all than to be pulled down from high places again and again. Who can know the hidden ways of karma?”
Bṛhaspati said: “Go to Brahmā and ask him. He knows the past, the present and the future.” Both came to Brahmā, bowed, and with joined palms asked what fault caused the husband of Śacī to lose his kingdom.
Brahmā’s teaching
Brahmā meditated for a long time and said that Indra had fallen through the fault of khaṇḍa-dharma, dharma that is broken or incomplete. Its causes, he said, are these: defects of place and time; misplaced faith or wrong utterance of mantras; not giving the dakshiṇā owed; giving poor things in dāna; and slighting the devas and the brāhmaṇas. Such a breach of dharma brings great distress of mind and loss of place, and for one whose mind is disturbed even a righteous act cannot bear good fruit. Brahmā also told them the earlier account of King Dhanvantari, son of Āyus, whose tapas was broken by the asura Tamas and set right by Bhagavān Vishṇu, and the events of the former birth.
When they asked how the fault could be removed, Brahmā said: “Go to the Gautamī, the divine river, and praise Bhagavān Vishṇu and Bhagavān Śaṅkara. In the three worlds there is no other means of purification than those two and that river.” Indra and Bṛhaspati went at once to the Gautamī, bathed, had darśana of Bhagavān Vishṇu and Bhagavān Śaṅkara, and praised them with joy.
Indra’s stotra to Bhagavān Vishṇu
Indra bowed to Bhagavān Vishṇu in his forms and names, in this order: to Matsya, to Kūrma, to Bhagavān Varāha, to Bhagavān Narasiṃha, to Vāmana, to the one in the form of a horse, to Trivikrama, to the one in the form of Buddha, of Rāma and of Kalki; to Ananta, to Acyuta, to Jāmadagnya; to the one in the form of Varuṇa and Indra, in the form of Yama, and in the form of the three worlds. “You are all-knowing and hold Sarasvatī in your mouth. You are Lakshmīvān, and so you hold Lakshmī on your chest. You are many-armed, many-thighed, many-footed, many-eared, many-eyed and many-headed. You are happy, and having attained you many have become happy. O Hari, impurity, wretchedness and loss of glory trouble men only as long as they do not take refuge in you, the ocean of mercy.”
Bṛhaspati’s stotra to Bhagavān Śiva
Bṛhaspati praised Bhagavān Śiva in these words:
- “O Īśa, those who seek moksha say that you are the subtle supreme light, the infinite; you are the Oṃkāra beyond Prakṛti; you are knowledge and bliss; you are all.”
- “Even those without desire worship you through the five great yajñas.”
- “Those whose desires are fulfilled enter your divine world beyond the ocean of saṃsāra, which is your cosmic body.”
- “They look on all beings with an equal eye, stay calm in the six waves, give up the fruits of action by knowledge, and by dhyāna enter you, Śambhu.”
- “The dharmas of the varṇas, the Vedas and śāstras, the path of dhyāna and contemplation are beyond me. It is through bhakti that I bow to Bhagavān Soma, Rudra, Śiva, Śaṅkara, of tranquil mind.”
- “Even a fool, O Śambhu, attains your body, whose nature is moksha, through devotion to your feet.”
- “The highest gain of knowledge, yajñas, tapas, dhyāna and homas is unbroken devotion to Someśvara.”
- “Devotion to you, in whom the universe dwells, is a stairway to svarga and moksha, the fruit of all that is seen and heard; the wise speak of no steps for the attainment of your feet.”
- “So, O merciful one, grant me devotion to you. I have no means to serve your form. In keeping with your greatness, O Īśa, have mercy on us.”
- “I bow to Someśvara, praised thus by the Śrutis and the Purāṇas: you are the gross and the subtle, without beginning, eternal, the father and the mother, the existing and the non-existing.”
The vara of Hari and Hara
Then Hari and Hara, the rulers of the devas, were pleased and said: “Choose any vara you wish, even one very hard to obtain.” Indra said: “My kingdom is lost and regained again and again. Let that pāpa be subdued, so that I may be stable in my kingdom and all that is mine may be steady.” Saying “So be it”, they smiled on Indra and Bṛhaspati. Their forms were free of every lack, standing without support, free of change, the refuge of the worlds, givers of bhukti (enjoyment) and mukti (moksha).
Hari and Hara said: “This great tīrtha has three presiding deities. The river Gautamī grants whatever is desired. Repeat this mantra and take a holy plunge in it with great reverence. For the welfare of Mahendra, let Bṛhaspati perform the ablution, and let him remember us both for the stability of fortune.” The mantra is:
“Whatever good and meritorious deeds have been performed in this birth and in the previous birth, let them attain perfection and completeness. O Godāvarī, obeisance to you.”
Whoever repeats this mantra and takes a holy dip in the Gautamī has his rite made perfect by the grace of Hari and Hara, is freed from the faults of former births, and becomes rich in puṇya. Indra and Bṛhaspati did so with great joy, and Bṛhaspati performed the great ablution of Indra. The holy river that arose from that ablution is the Maṅgalā; its confluence with the Gaṅgā is holy and grants auspiciousness.
Indra becomes Govinda
Praised by Indra, Bhagavān Vishṇu granted him darśana. From Bhagavān Vishṇu, ruler of the universe, Indra received a mūrti as vast as the three worlds, known as Govinda, and a cow as vast as the three worlds, given by Bhagavān Vishṇu. So Indra became Govinda, “he who obtained the cow”. Indra received the kingdom of the three worlds from Hari, and it was made stable by Maheśvara, ruler of the devas.
The place where Bṛhaspati praised Maheśvara for the stability of the kingdom of Devendra became the tīrtha known as Govinda. Its deity is Siddheśvara, and the liṅga is worshipped by the devas. The confluence of the Maṅgalā is Pūrṇatīrtha. Beyond lie Indratīrtha and the Bārhaspatya tīrtha, where the deities are Siddheśvara, Vishṇu and Govinda.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 52
The phala
- A holy bath, the giving of dāna (gifts) and any other act of puṇya in these tīrthas bear everlasting (akshaya) fruit. They are very dear to the pitṛs.
- One who listens to the greatness of this tīrtha, reads it or remembers it every day regains a lost kingdom.
- There are thirty-seven thousand tīrthas on both banks here, and they grant every siddhi.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 52
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 52