Cakratīrtha (Gautamī, Daṇḍaka)

Cakratīrtha · cakra-tīrtha, “the tīrtha of the cakra”

Cakratīrtha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Cakratīrtha.

Cakratīrtha is a tīrtha on the bank of the Gautamī (the Godāvarī) where the Sudarśana, the divine cakra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, was washed in the waters of the Gaṅgā after it had protected the satra of the seven ṛshis led by Vasishṭha. Brahmā tells Nārada its account in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa. Merely remembering this tīrtha destroys pāpas, and bathing and giving dāna there give the fruit of a satra yajña.

The satra of the seven ṛshis

The seven ṛshis, with Vasishṭha at their head, went to the banks of the Gautamī and began a satra (a long yajña). The rākshasas raised a terrible obstruction there, and the ṛshis went to Brahmā and told him what the rākshasas had done. Then Brahmā made the form of a young maiden by Māyā and said, “By the mere sight of her the rākshasas shall perish,” and gave her to the ṛshis. At his word they went back, taking Māyā with them.

That Māyā exists in bodily form even today, known by the name Muktakeśī, “she whose tresses are loose”. She is Ajā, the unborn, and Ekā, the one; she has black and red forms; she takes whatever form she wishes; and she casts moha (delusion) on all the three worlds.

Śambara and the Sudarśana

By her power the ṛshis had peace of mind. They went to the Gautamī, took dīkshā (initiation) for the yajñas once again, and once again the rākshasas came to destroy the yajña. Seeing Māyā near the yajña ground, the leading rākshasas began to dance, sing, laugh and cry. The great Māyā of Maheśvara stood there in the full might of her power. Among the rākshasas was Śambara, a valorous lord of the daityas, and he devoured the maiden in the form of Māyā, which astonished all who had seen her power.

As the yajña was being destroyed, the ṛshis took refuge in Bhagavān Vishṇu, and Vishṇu gave his cakra for their protection. The cakra cut down the daityas, dānavas and rākshasas in battle, and the leading rākshasas died out of fear of it. The ṛshis completed their great satra, and the Sudarśana, the divine cakra of Vishṇu, was washed in the waters of the Gaṅgā.

The phala

From then on the tīrtha is called Cakratīrtha. Remembering it destroys pāpas. By bathing and giving dāna there, one obtains the fruit of a satra yajña. There are five hundred tīrthas there that dispel pāpas, and bathing and giving dāna in each of them gives moksha.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 64

Sources

• Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 64