Gokarṇa Ātmaliṅga
The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells how Rāvaṇa won the ātmaliṅga (the liṅga that is Bhagavān Śiva’s own ātmā) from Bhagavān Śiva by hard tapas, and how Bhagavān Vishṇu made a plan so that it was fixed for ever at Gokarṇa. The text places this account inside Rāma’s war against Rāvaṇa. Vibhīshaṇa tells it as part of Rāvaṇa’s past. It also joins the account to the origin of Mandodarī and to the setting up of the Rāmeśvara liṅga.
Rāvaṇa’s tapas with his own body
Rāvaṇa did very hard tapas on Mount Kailāsa to please Bhagavān Śiva. He used his own body as a vīṇā (a stringed instrument). He cut off one of his heads and used it as the sounding box. He used his own sinews as the strings. Then he sounded the shaḍja note (the base note) in the gāndhāra mode and began to sing divine music in praise of Bhagavān Śiva, with his own body as the instrument.
Bhagavān Śiva was moved by this act of devotion. He sent Nandīśvara to join Rāvaṇa’s cut head back onto his body. Then, very pleased, Bhagavān Śiva asked Rāvaṇa what vara (boon) he wanted. Rāvaṇa asked for the ātmaliṅga, which is Bhagavān Śiva’s own self in the form of a liṅga. He also asked for Pārvatī herself. Bhagavān Śiva was bound by his promise and gave both.
One condition was given, and it mattered greatly. The ātmaliṅga must not be put down on the earth before it reached its place. If it touched the ground, it would be fixed at that spot for ever.
Vishṇu’s plan
Rāvaṇa set out for Laṅkā, carrying both the ātmaliṅga and Pārvatī. Bhagavān Vishṇu made a plan to stop the liṅga from reaching Laṅkā. In the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Bhagavān Vishṇu arranged things so that a cowherd boy appeared. The boy offered to hold the liṅga while Rāvaṇa did his sandhyā-vandana (the daily prayers at the junction of day and night). Rāvaṇa could not miss his sandhyā, so he gave the liṅga to the boy.
Before Rāvaṇa could finish his rite and come back, the boy put the liṅga down on the earth at Gokarṇa. This is a holy place on the south-western coast of Bhārata. The liṅga was at once fixed there and could not be moved. Rāvaṇa tried in rage to pull it up, but even with his twenty arms he could not shift it. The place where the ātmaliṅga became fixed is the Mahābalīśvara liṅga, the famous Gokarṇa jyotirliṅga.
Pārvatī’s prayer to Vishṇu
The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa adds that Pārvatī, who was with Rāvaṇa during this episode, prayed to Bhagavān Vishṇu to be taken back. The text says: “O Pārvatī, you prayed to Vishṇu during the journey, and through Hari’s words, the ātmaliṅga became earth-fixed at Gokarṇa, and Rāvaṇa obtained Mandodarī (Maya’s daughter) instead and went to his home.”
The text joins these events in one chain. Bhagavān Vishṇu kept the ātmaliṅga from reaching Laṅkā, and He also arranged for Mandodarī to become Rāvaṇa’s wife.
The origin of Mandodarī
The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa gives its own account of where Mandodarī came from. When Bhagavān Vishṇu defeated Jalandhara, the chandana (sandalwood paste) on Bhagavān Vishṇu’s body fell to the earth. It became a substance of rare fragrance and beauty. Mandodarī was formed from this divine chandana. By Bhagavān Vishṇu’s grace she was given to the asura builder Maya as his daughter.
After the Gokarṇa episode Rāvaṇa could not bring Pārvatī or the ātmaliṅga to Laṅkā. He came to Maya’s house and married Mandodarī in place of Pārvatī. So the wife given to Rāvaṇa was herself made from the beauty of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Her son is Indrajit.
Why Gokarṇa is holy
Gokarṇa became one of the most sacred tīrthas (holy places) in Bhārata. The ātmaliṅga, which is Bhagavān Śiva’s own self, is fixed there, and no power in the universe can move it. A tīrtha-yātrā (journey) to Gokarṇa and pūjā (worship) of the Mahābalīśvara liṅga there is held to give moksha (liberation). The episode is also why Gokarṇa is linked above all with liberation for ancestors. The power of the ātmaliṅga gives liberation to all who come to it with devotion.
Sources
- Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Sāra Khaṇḍa, Sarga 10