Shloka 4
उत्तरदिग्देशस्थ-शिवलीङ्गमाहात्म्य
Māhātmya of Northern-Region Śiva-liṅgas
गोकर्णं क्षेत्रमपरं महापातकनाशनम् । महावनं च तत्रास्ति पवित्रमतिविस्तरम्
gokarṇaṃ kṣetramaparaṃ mahāpātakanāśanam | mahāvanaṃ ca tatrāsti pavitramativistaram
Gokarṇa est un autre lieu saint qui détruit même les fautes les plus graves. Là se trouve aussi une grande forêt, d’une pureté suprême et d’une vaste étendue.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Mahādeva
Sthala Purana: Gokarṇa is praised as a kṣetra that destroys mahāpātakas; the verse foregrounds the kṣetra itself (field of Śiva’s presence) and its purifying forest (mahāvana) as part of the sacred geography.
Significance: Mahāpātaka-nāśana: pilgrimage, darśana, and residence/sojourn in the kṣetra are portrayed as powerful means of pāpa-kṣaya and inner purification, preparing the soul for Śiva’s grace.
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It proclaims Gokarṇa as a sanctifying kṣetra whose contact and worship-oriented pilgrimage can burn away even heavy karmic burdens, emphasizing Shiva’s grace working through sacred geography.
In the Koṭirudra context of Jyotirliṅga-mahātmya, praising the kṣetra implies that Saguna Shiva is worshipped there in an accessible form (Liṅga/temple presence), where devotion and rites gain intensified fruit.
Pilgrimage (kṣetra-yātrā) with Shiva-bhakti—such as darśana, japa of the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), and simple purification observances—fits the verse’s focus on sin-destruction and sanctity.