The significance of Gokarna and two myths

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The significance of Gokarna and two myths

 

Trilochan Sastry

 

 

Gokarna is about 60 km south of Karwar, on the Karnataka coast in

Uttara Kannada district. The ancient Atmalinga temple of

Mahabaleshwara (Siva) is located there and is a well-known pilgrimage

centre. It is a famous centre for Sanskrit learning.

 

Ancient poets have praised the pilgrim town, including the Tamil

Saivite Saints (Nayanars). Legend has it that Ravana obtained the

Atmalingam from Lord Siva and halted at Gokarna. However, he was not

allowed to place the Atmalinga on the ground while carrying it to

Lanka.

 

Ganapati appeared as a young boy, tricked Ravana, and placed the

Atmalingam on the ground. Ravana used his considerable strength, but

could not lift the lingam. The pull exerted by Ravana caused the

Atmalingam to resemble the shape of a cow's ear giving the town its

name, Gokarna. A very similar legend is repeated at the Vaidyanath –

Jyotirlingam temple at Deogarh in Bihar. Ravana, enraged at the loss

of the Atmalingam, hit Ganapati on the head and caused a dent. Even

today, the priests in the Ganapati temple near the Mahabaleshwara

temple invite devotees to feel the finger-width depression on top of

the idol's head.

 

 

In 1878, Ganapati Sastri was born several hundred miles from Gokarna

near the east coast in Bobbili in the Vizianagaram district of Andhra

Pradesh. He became a renowned scholar, kavi (seer), tapasvi and yogi.

He spent many years in Gokarna and the nearby town of Sirsi in later

life. He is better known however as Vashishtha Ganapati Muni, one of

the leading disciples of Ramana Maharishi, who lived most of his life

in Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. Ganapati Muni openly claimed that he

was born as an "amsa" or part of Ganapati. He said he was the

Maharishi's elder brother since the latter according to him, was a

manifestation of Karthik, the younger son of Siva. Ganapati Muni was

drawn to the young Maharishi.

 

On November 18, 1907, he ran up the sacred Arunachala hill to

Virupaksha cave and fell at the Maharishi's feet in great anguish. He

made the traditional ``shashtanga pranaam'' with his hands crossed so

that his left hand did not touch the young Maharishi's right foot.

 

"All the scriptures that have to be read, I have read. All the

mantras and japa that have to be done, I have done. Still I have no

peace. Please save me." The young swami silently gazed at him for at

least fifteen minutes. Then he spoke in Tamil. The English

translation is well known to devotees of the Maharishi: "If one

watches whence the notion `I' arises, the mind is absorbed in That;

that is tapas. When you recite a mantra, watch where the sound is

coming from, within you; when you sing a song or prayer, watch where

it is emanating from: your Heart. Put your attention on That. That is

tyaga, that is tapasya, that is all." The Maharishi's words were for

posterity, the immediate blessings for Ganapati Muni.

 

Filled with peace and joy, Ganapati Muni proclaimed the loin cloth

clad young man as Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharishi, by which name he has

now become famous all over the world. He wrote several hymns in

Sanskrit in praise of Ramana Maharshi, and wrote Ramana Gita

explaining his teachings. When hardly 18 years old, he set out and

wandered from one sacred place to another, residing in places like

Bhuvaneshwar, Tiruvannamalai, Sirsi, Gokarna and Kharagpur where he

performed tapas. The Muni continued his intense sadhana throughout

his short life of 60 years. He was also a great patriot, fired with

love for the country, and intent on restoring it to its ancient

glory. Perhaps it was for this reason that the Maharishi said on the

great Muni's passing away in 1938: "How can he get liberation? He had

such strong sankalpas (desires)."

 

Perhaps people with a strong desire to do good are born again and

again. In the Buddhist tradition, such people are classified as

Bodhisattvas. Perhaps it was people like the Muni that Sri

Ramakrishna classified as "Ishwarakotis" – those who are born for the

good of the world.

 

There is a strange but relatively unknown link between the Gokarna

legend and Vashishta Ganapati Muni. It was well known to devotees of

Ramana Maharishi that the Muni experienced kapalabheda in 1922 at the

Mango Cave on Arunachala, i.e., as a result of intense tapas, his

cranium split. Subsequently, he had a dent on his head for the rest

of his life. It caused him a lot of physical discomfort including

intense burning sensations (tapas literally means heat) until the

Maharishi once again blessed him. The young Ramana Maharishi was

profoundly inspired by the Nayanars – the same poets who also sang in

praise of Gokarna. The Muni claiming to be a part of the god Ganapati

himself, was attracted to Gokarana where he spent many years and

composed many of his great works.

 

The legend of the Gokarna Ganapati and the flesh and blood Ganapati

Muni both had a dent on the top of their heads. It raises some

strange questions: does the ancient Gokarna legend have some basis in

fact? The Maharishi instructed him "…when you sing a song or prayer,

watch where it is emanating from…" Did this emanation for the Muni

have anything to do with Gokarna? Did the Muni go to Gokarna because

of some ancient memory? Perhaps we will never know.

[Guest guest]

There is a small extension to the story of Ravana and Atmalinga told in

those area. When Ganapathi put the lings down, Ravana got angry and

tried to pull out the lings. He could not. But he broke out four pieces

and threw them around. Those are at muruDEshwara, guNavantEshwara,

dArEshwara and another place near Karwar (I forget the name). While

gOkarNa and muruDEshwara are quite popular, the others are not. There

are nice ancient temples in guNavantEshwara, dArEshwara.

 

gOkarNa also has the practice where people can touch the linga and

perform the pUja themselves. This is unlike other south Indian temples.

 

Best regards,

Ramachandra