Gautameśvara
Gautameśvara · gautama-īśvara, “the lord of Gautama”
Gautameśvara has other meanings too: see all meanings of Gautameśvara.
Gautameśvara is Bhagavān Śiva, Deveśa, as the presiding deity of the Govardhana tīrtha on the banks of the Gautamī. The Brahma Purāṇa says that one who has his darśana dwells in svarga as long as Mount Meru stands on the earth. The tīrtha at the Gautamī’s meeting with the sea, where Maheśvara is also called Gautameśvara, has its own page.
The Govardhana tīrtha
In the Gautamī Māhātmya, Brahmā tells Nārada that he has himself tested the power of the Govardhana tīrtha, which destroys all pāpas, gives puṇya to the pitṛs and dispels pāpa even when remembered. A brāhmaṇa farmer named Jābāli 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, mother of the worlds, spoke to Nandī. Nandī told everything to Bhagavān Śiva, and Śiva said: “May whatever you say be fulfilled.” With Śiva’s leave, Nandī withdrew all cattle, and cows vanished from svarga and the world of mortals.
The devas came in haste to Brahmā, saying that they could not live without cows, and Brahmā sent them to Bhagavān Śiva. They praised Śiva and told him the matter, and Śiva said: “My Bull knows everything.” Nandī told the devas to perform the Gosava yajña, by which they would gain all cows, divine and human. The devas performed it on the banks of the Gautamī, and the cattle increased. So the tīrtha was named Govardhana, “the increase of cows”, and it increased the joy of the devas.
The phala
The Brahma Purāṇa says that a bath there gives the fruit of gifts of thousands of cows, and the fruit of any dāna made there is beyond reckoning. The presiding deity there is Gautameśvara, Bhagavān Śiva, Deveśa, and by his darśana one dwells in svarga as long as Mount Meru lasts on the earth.
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 21