Shloka 7
महाबलमाहात्म्यवर्णनम् (Mahābala Māhātmya-varṇanam) — “Account of the Greatness of Mahābala (and Western Sacred Liṅgas)”
गोकर्णे शिवलिंगानां तीर्थानामपि सर्वशः । वर्ण्यते महिमा तात पुराणेषु महर्षिभिः
gokarṇe śivaliṃgānāṃ tīrthānāmapi sarvaśaḥ | varṇyate mahimā tāta purāṇeṣu maharṣibhiḥ
O dear one, in Gokarṇa the glory of the Śiva-liṅgas and of all the sacred tīrthas is celebrated everywhere, as the great sages have described in the Purāṇas.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Paśupatinātha
Sthala Purana: The verse explicitly frames Gokarṇa’s liṅgas and tīrthas as repeatedly praised by maharṣis across Purāṇic literature, indicating a widely transmitted kṣetra-māhātmya tradition.
Significance: Hearing/reciting the kṣetra’s mahimā (śravaṇa) is itself meritorious; it supports bhakti and prepares the paśu for Śiva’s anugraha through kṣetra-yātrā and liṅga-sevā.
Type: stotra
FAQs
The verse establishes Gokarṇa as a highly sanctifying Śaiva kṣetra where the greatness of Śiva-liṅga worship and tīrtha-sevā is affirmed by Purāṇic seers, encouraging devotion (bhakti) as a direct means to grace.
By praising the mahimā of Śiva-liṅgas at Gokarṇa, it highlights Saguna Śiva worship through the liṅga as a concrete, accessible focus for reverence, purification, and receiving Śiva’s anugraha (grace).
It implies tīrtha-yātrā to Gokarṇa with liṅga-pūjā—abhisheka, offering bilva leaves, and japa of the Pañcākṣarī mantra “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” as the core devotional practice.