Gosava
Gosava · go-sava, “the yajña of the cows”
Govardhana has other meanings too: see all meanings of Govardhana. Jābāli has other meanings too: see all meanings of Jābāli.
The Gosava is the yajña of the cows that Nandī, the divine bull of Bhagavān Śiva, taught the devas when every cow and bullock had vanished from svarga and the mortal world. The devas performed it on the banks of the Gautamī, and by it they gained all cows, both divine and human, and the cattle flourished again. The place became the Govardhana tīrtha, “the increase of cows”, where the presiding deity is Gautameśvara.
Why the cattle vanished
Brahmā tells Nārada, in the account of the Govardhana tīrtha, that there was a brāhmaṇa farmer named Jābāli who never rested his bullocks even at midday, and beat them on their backs and sides with his whip. Seeing the bullocks with tears in their eyes, Kāmadhenu, the mother of the worlds, spoke to Nandī. Nandī, distressed, told everything to Bhagavān Śiva, and Bhagavān Śiva said: “May whatever you say be fulfilled.” With his leave, Nandī withdrew the whole race of cattle.
When all the cattle had vanished in svarga and in the mortal world, the devas hurried to Brahmā: “It is impossible to live without cows.” Brahmā sent them to Bhagavān Śiva. They praised him and told him the matter, and Bhagavān Śiva said: “My Bull knows everything.”
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 21
The yajña and its fruit
The devas said to Nandī: “Give us the cows and bullocks that help us.” Nandī answered: “Let the Gosava yajña be performed. By it you will obtain all cows, both divine and human.” The devas performed the Gosava on the auspicious banks of the Gautamī, and the cattle flourished. That tīrtha was named Govardhana, and it increased the joy of the devas.
The phala of the tīrtha: a snāna (holy bath) there gives the fruit of the gift of thousands of cows; the fruit of any dāna made there is beyond reckoning. The presiding deity is Gautameśvara, Bhagavān Śiva, the ruler of the devas, and one who has his darśana dwells in svarga as long as Mount Meru stands on the earth.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 21
The fruit of a go-yajña at Gotīrtha
On the Gautamī, near Cakreśvara, lies Gotīrtha, where the cows that had licked clean the bones of Dadhīci were purified by bathing in the Gaṅgā at Bhagavān Śiva‘s word. By bathing there, a wise devotee obtains the fruit of a go-yajña.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 40
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapters 21, 40