Kokāmukha Kshetra

Kokāmukha is a sacred Vaishṇava kshetra named in the Narasimha Purāṇa. It is the place where Bhagavān Vishṇu released his Varāha (boar) form, after he lifted the earth and slew Hiraṇyāksha.

The Purāṇa calls it a secret and supremely excellent kshetra for the welfare of Vaishṇavas. The Narasimha Purāṇa gives no exact map position for it beyond this account.

The Varāha avatāra and Kokāmukha

The place is made holy by the Varāha avatāra. Hiraṇyāksha stole the earth’s supporting power, the śakti that holds the earth in place, and dragged Bhūmi down to the netherworld. Bhagavān Vishṇu then took the form of Varāha, the great boar.

This vast Varāha had these parts:

  • The four Vedas were his four feet.
  • The sacrificial post (yūpa-stambha) was his tusk.
  • Agni (fire) was his wide face.
  • Sūrya and Candra were his two eyes.
  • The rites of Vedic dharma (vaidika-dharma) were his ears.
  • The Sāmaveda was his deep voice.
  • The stars were his matted locks and his cosmic garlands.

In this Veda-maya form, made of the Vedas, Bhagavān Vishṇu went down to Pātāla. He slew Hiraṇyāksha in battle and lifted the earth on his tusk. Rising from the netherworld, he set the earth back in its proper place. He put all the mountains back where they belonged.

The Narasimha Purāṇa (Chapter 39) names the place where he released the Varāha form:

The place where the Varāha form was released became the Kokāmukha kshetra, a secret and supremely excellent kshetra for the welfare of Vaishṇavas.

After he released the Varāha form, Bhagavān Vishṇu took up the role of Brahmā again and went on with creation.

Place in the Vishṇu-Vallabha Stotra

In the Vishṇu-Vallabha Stotra (Chapter 65), Bhagavān Vishṇu taught Brahmā sixty-eight secret divine names. Each name is paired with a tīrtha where his presence is easy to reach. Kokāmukha is the first name in this list:

Vārāha, at Kokāmukha

So Kokāmukha heads the list of sixty-eight tīrthas. The Varāha form of Bhagavān Vishṇu is one of his most ancient forms. The Purāṇa says that devoted Vaishṇavas can reach this Vārāha form here and attain moksha (liberation).

The Narasimha Purāṇa uses the word rahasyam (secret) for this kshetra. The same Stotra is the teaching in which Bhagavān Vishṇu tells Brahmā his secret divine names.

Sources

  • Narasimha Purāṇa, Chapter 39
  • Narasimha Purāṇa, Chapter 65 (Vishṇu-Vallabha Stotra)