Guptakshetra means the hidden sacred field (kshetra). It is the name of the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama and the land around it, on the western coast of Bhārata, where the river Mahī meets the ocean. The land reaches seven krośas in every direction from the Saṃgama, and the Kaumārika Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa treats all of it as one tīrtha of the highest holiness.

Within this land stand five great Śiva Liṅgas, several Āditya temples, the four Śaktis and nine Durgās of the Bahūdaka, the Koṭitīrtha, and many sacred pools and smaller tīrthas. The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa tells of Guptakshetra, of the ṛshis and devotees who lived there, and of the events, divine and human, that took place there in many yugas.

Name and extent

Guptakshetra means “the hidden sacred field”. The tīrtha is very powerful, but it is not as famous as Vārāṇasī or Prabhāsa. Its power stays hidden from the casual pilgrim and is meant for those who come with real śraddhā (faith) and sādhanā (practice).

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa says that Guptakshetra reaches seven krośas from the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama. Every spot within these seven krośas shares the holiness of the Saṃgama itself. (Chapter 66)

The Mahīsāgara Saṃgama

The heart of Guptakshetra is the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama. This is the meeting of the river Mahī with the western ocean, the Arabian Sea. A saṃgama is a meeting of waters, and river-and-ocean meetings are among the most sacred places in Bhārata. They join the holiness of the river, the vastness of the ocean and the power of the meeting itself. The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa speaks of the Saṃgama in many chapters.

Five great Liṅgas

Chapters 33 to 36 describe the five Liṅgas of Guptakshetra. They are the spiritual centre of the kshetra.

Pratijñeśvara. The Liṅga of the vow (pratijñā), set at the western entrance of the kshetra.
Kapāleśvara, with Kapālikeśvarī. Here fell Bhagavān Śiva’s Śakticchidra. This was the wound made when Bhagavān Vishṇu’s Sudarśana cut the body of Satī. It is one of the fifty-one Śaktipīṭhas.
Kumāreśa. The central Liṅga. Bhagavān Brahmā himself made it when Kumāra marched against the asura Tārakāsura. Pārvatī and Gaṇeśa are set nearby. Many varas (boons) are promised to those who worship here.
Stambheśvara. Kumāra himself set up this Liṅga on his victory pillar (jaya-stambha) after he defeated Tārakāsura.
Siddheśvara. All the devas together set up this Liṅga. It is linked with Siddhambikā and the Siddhakuṇḍa.

(Chapters 33–36)

Ādityas and Sūrya temples

Guptakshetra has several Āditya temples. Each is tied to a particular narrative.

Jayāditya. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa worshipped here on his pilgrimage to the Saṃgama.
Bālāditya. Bhagavān Sūrya appeared here as a leprous boy of seven and enlightened Nandabhadra (Chapter 46).
Bhattāditya. Bhagavān Sūrya worshipped in the form of a brāhmaṇa devotee. The 108 names of Sūrya were given here (Chapter 43).
Barkarika Tīrtha. Bālāditya is closely linked with this smaller tīrtha.

(Chapters 43 and 46)

The Bahūdaka Tīrtha

The Bahūdaka Tīrtha is the tīrtha of abundant water. It is the bathing pool in Guptakshetra beside which stands the Kapīleśvara Liṅga, set up by the ṛshi Kapila after his long tapas. At this place:

Nandabhadra worshipped the Kapīleśvara Liṅga three times each day.
Bhagavān Sūrya, as a seven-year-old, appeared as Bālāditya to enlighten him.
The four Śaktis and nine Durgās are established.

(Chapters 45–47)

The Koṭitīrtha

The Koṭitīrtha, the tīrtha of ten million, is the best known bathing tīrtha of Guptakshetra. All ten million (koṭi) tīrthas of Bhārata are held to be present in this one pool. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa bathed here on his pilgrimage to the Saṃgama. (Chapter 54)

Devotees who found siddhi here

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa names several devotees who reached siddhi (spiritual attainment) at Guptakshetra.

Kālabhīti. He found the highest bliss under a bilva tree and did tapas for a hundred years. He became the Mahākāla Liṅga (Chapters 40–41).
Aitareya. A silent brāhmaṇa who remembered his past births (jātishmara). He reached siddhi through the Vāsudeva mantra in the settlement of the Hārīta family here (Chapter 42).
Nandabhadra. A merchant and thinker who worshipped the Kapīleśvara Liṅga and was taught by Bhagavān Sūrya himself (Chapters 45–46).
Barbarika. After pilgrimage and sādhanā here, he received the three ash-arrows and the highest siddhi of a warrior (Chapters 63–64).
Kṛshṇa. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa made the pilgrimage to the Saṃgama, offered piṇḍadāna, and worshipped all the Liṅgas and Ādityas (Chapter 54).

Phalaśruti

At its end the Kaumārika Khaṇḍa declares the phalaśruti (the promise of merit). A person who hears or reads the whole narrative of Guptakshetra gains every wish and in the end moksha (liberation). The whole land of seven krośas is holy, and no spot in it is ordinary. (Chapter 66)

Sources

Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–66
Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 66 (name, extent and phalaśruti)
Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 33–36 (the five Liṅgas)
Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 40–42, 43, 45–47, 54, 63–64 (Āditya temples, Bahūdaka, Koṭitīrtha and the devotees)