Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 173
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 17314 Shlokas

Adhyaya 173: Account of Gokarṇa’s Śuka-Satra, Temple Consecration, and the Resulting Merit

Gokarṇa-śuka-satra-pratiṣṭhā-phala-kathana

Ritual-Manual (Tīrtha-Māhātmya and Dāna-Śrāddha Praxis)

Gokarna ne Shuka aur uske mata pita ka samman kiya aur ek acche parivar ko bhi izzat di. Usne Mathura mein sab logon ke liye puja aur tyohar ka intezam kiya. Brahmanon ko khana dena aur unki mehmaan nawazi ka khayal rakha. Phir Gokarna ne Shukesvara naam ka ek bada Shiv mandir banwaya. Usne Brahmanon ke liye Shuka-satra naam ka bada bhoj karaya jise log bahut yaad karte hain. Ye sab kaam karne se Shuka ko moksha mila aur samajh mein bhi accha hua. Is tarah se dharam chalta raha aur logon ko mukti ka marg mila.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivī

Key Concepts

tīrtha-māhātmya (merit of Sarasvatī-saṅgama and Mathurā)satkāra and dāna (hospitality, food-gifts, suvarṇa-dāna, go-dāna)śrāddha praxis and ancestral/social obligationliṅga/āyatana-pratiṣṭhā (Śukeśvara installation)satra (large-scale Brahmin-feeding rite) and community welfaremokṣa and svarga as narrative outcomes of ritual economyecological sacrality of river confluences (saṅgama as protected landscape)
Recitation with translationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 173

Shlokas in Adhyaya 173

Verse 1

श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ तत्र स्थित्वा यथान्यायं गोकरणः सर्वमङ्गलम् ॥ शुकं च मातापितरौ साधुभार्याचतुष्टयम्

Varaha bhagwan ne kaha, wahan reh ke Gokarn ne sahi tareeke se kaam kiya. Woh bilkul achha insaan tha. Usne apne baap Shuk ko, apni maa ko, aur apni chaaron biwiyon ka khayal rakha.

Verse 2

सम्मान्य पूजयामास यथाविभवशक्तितः ॥ मथुरावासिभिर्लोकैरुद्यानं कारयंस्तदा

Usne jitna ho sake utna izzat di aur puja ki. Mathura ke logon ke saath milkar usne ek baghichcha banwayi.

Verse 3

स्वयं च कृतवांस्तत्र अविघ्नस्य महामखम् ॥ भक्ष्यभोज्ये ब्राह्मणेभ्यो ददौ दानानि नित्यशः

Khud bhi wahan ek bada yagya kiya. Koi rukaavat na ho, isliye kiya. Brahmin logon ko khana khilaya. Roz daan deta tha.

Verse 4

गीतवादित्रमाङ्गल्यं पुत्रवृद्धौ यथोचितम् ॥ तत्सर्वं कृतवाँल्लोको गोकरणस्य महात्मनः

Logon ne gaane bajaye. Achhi baatein boli. Bacchon aur ghar ki badhai ke liye yeh sab kiya. Gokarn bada achha aadmi tha, isliye logon ne uske liye yeh sab kiya.

Verse 5

एकैकं च परिष्वज्य प्रणिपत्य यथाक्रमम् ॥ मातापित्रोः प्रणम्याथ शिरसा पादपङ्कजे

Usne sabko ek-ek karke gale lagaya. Sabko sahi kram mein jhukaya. Phir maa aur baap ke paas gaya. Unke paon mein sar rakh ke pranam kiya.

Verse 6

शुकं हृदि समालोक्य प्ररुरोद स वै वणिक् ॥ यस्य प्रसादाज्जीवश्च धर्मश्चानुत्तमा गतिः

Us vanik ne apne dil mein Shuk ko dekha. Woh roya. Shuk ki kripa se insaan ko zindagi milti hai. Dharam milta hai. Aur sabse badi manzil milti hai.

Verse 7

विशिष्टेन मया प्राप्तो राज्ञो लाभः सुपुष्कलः ॥ शुक पुत्रान्मया प्राप्तमिह लोके परत्र च

Tumhari wajah se raja ne mujhe bahut fayda diya. Shuk, tumhare beta ne mujhe yahan bhi khush kiya. Aur marne ke baad bhi sab theek kar diya.

Verse 8

एवं वसन्सुखं तत्र गोकरणः सह बन्धुभिः ॥ शुक नाम्ना कृतं तेन शिवस्यायतनं महत्

Gokarna wahan apne parivar ke saath khush rehta tha. Usne Shiva ka ek bada mandir banwaya. Us mandir ka naam Shuk rakha.

Verse 9

शुकेश्वरं प्रतिष्ठाप्य दिव्यं सत्रं चकार ह ॥ ब्राह्मणानां शते द्वे च मिष्टान्नवरभोजने

Usne Shukeshar ki murti lagayi. Ek bada bhoj karwaya. Do sau pandit aaye. Unko meetha khana aur accha khana khilaya.

Verse 10

शुकप्रदाने गोकर्णः फलं स्नानस्य सङ्गमात्॥ श्राद्धं सुवर्णैर्गोदानं कृत्वा तस्मै ददौ च सः॥

Gokarn ne tota daan karke punya paaya, jaise kisi pavitra sangam par nahaane ka phal milta hai. Usne sona de ke shraadh kiya, gaay daan ki, aur woh sab usko de diya.

Verse 11

शबराय सभार्याय तेन स्वर्गं गतश्च ह॥ शुकोदरेण सहितो विमानवरमास्थितः॥

Is daan se woh Shabar aur uski biwi ke saath swarg gaya. Shuk-udar ke saath baith ke accha viman liya aur ud gaya.

Verse 12

एतत्ते कथितं सर्वं मथुरायां महत्फलम्॥ सरस्वतीसङ्गमस्य गोकर्णस्य शिवस्य च॥

Yeh sab maine tumhe bataya, Mathura mein yeh sab ka bahut phal milta hai. Saraswati sangam, Gokarn aur Shiv, in sab ka mahatva hai.

Verse 13

गोकर्णस्य तु सन्तानमक्षयं धर्मतोऽव्ययम्॥ सम्भूतं स सुखं भुक्त्वा ततो मोक्षमवाप्नुयात्॥

Gokarn ki vansh chalti rahegi, yeh kabhi khatam nahi hoti. Dharam ke hisaab se yeh sada rehta hai. Woh sukh bhog ke baad mukti paata hai.

Verse 14

शुकसत्रमिति ख्यातं मृत्तो मुक्तिमवाप सः॥ विमानवरमारुह्य स्वर्गलोकं गतः शुकः॥

Iska naam Shuk Satra pada. Marne ke baad usko mukti mili. Accha viman pakad ke Shuk swarg lok chala gaya.

Inside Adhyaya 173

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Varāha continues to narrate to Pṛthivī the settled, auspicious phase after Gokarṇa’s establishment, foregrounding dharmic social order: honoring Śuka, his parents, and a virtuous household, and arranging public worship and hospitality in Mathurā.

  2. Central event

    Gokarṇa institutionalizes communal dharma through sustained satkāra and nitya-dāna (especially anna-dāna to Brahmins), integrates tīrtha-bathing and śrāddha obligations, and then founds a major Śiva āyatana/liṅga named Śukeśvara in honor of Śuka; alongside this, he conducts a large, obstacle-free Brahmin-feeding rite that becomes renowned as the “Śuka-satra.”

  3. Climax resolution

    The Śukeśvara installation and the successful completion of the Śuka-satra crystallize the chapter’s claim that public religious patronage (temple-consecration + regulated giving) produces both visible social welfare and invisible posthumous benefit: Śuka’s ascent is secured, and even marginal figures (a Śabara and his wife) are lifted by participation/association in the ritual economy.

  4. Closing phalashruti

    The narrative closes by asserting enduring mahā-phala from Mathurā/Sarasvatī-saṅgama observances—tīrtha-bathing, śrāddha, and gifts (gold/cows/food)—with outcomes framed as svarga/mokṣa and stable dharmic continuity for patrons and beneficiaries.

Geographical context

Mathurā; Sarasvatī-saṅgama (river confluence); Gokarṇa (as a named sacred persona/place-context in the narrative); Śukeśvara (Śiva shrine/āyatana established in the Mathurā setting).

Tirtha focus

  • Primary TirthaSarasvatī-saṅgama (confluence) in the Mathurā sacral landscape
  • Associated RegionMathurā
  • Pilgrimage MeritBathing at the saṅgama and performing śrāddha and dāna in Mathurā are presented as high-yield acts (mahat-phala), amplifying ancestral uplift, removing obstacles to rites, and supporting ascent/liberation when joined to temple patronage and sustained feeding of Brahmins.

Ritual instructions

  • Primary RitualŚuka-satra (large-scale Brahmin-feeding satra) together with Śukeśvara liṅga/āyatana-pratiṣṭhā, integrated with tīrtha-snāna, śrāddha, and dāna
  • BenefitPortrayed benefits include communal stability and welfare through regulated giving, removal of ritual obstacles, amplification of tīrtha and śrāddha efficacy, and posthumous ascent (svarga) tending toward liberation (mokṣa) for beneficiaries and patrons; merit is depicted as durable through the installed shrine and institutionalized satra.

The narrative frame

  • VarāhaPṛthivī · Didactic tīrtha-māhātmya with ritual-prescriptive emphasis; celebratory of public dharma and patronage

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (serene, dharma-centered devotion) with undertones of Karuṇā (compassion expressed as feeding/giving)
  • Emotional ProgressionFrom orderly gratitude and honoring (satkāra) → expansive public generosity and festivity → solemn consecration and communal rite → quiet assurance of lasting merit and uplift for both elite and marginal beneficiaries.

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityHigh: Mathurā is a major, well-connected pilgrimage city; the Sarasvatī-saṅgama identification may be tradition-specific and may require local guidance to map to present-day confluence/ghat traditions. The ‘Śukeśvara’ shrine name may correspond to a local/lesser-known temple tradition rather than a widely standardized site.
  • Best SeasonOctober–March (cooler months for North Indian pilgrimage and riverfront rituals)
  • Modern Location NameMathura, Uttar Pradesh, India
  • Related FestivalKārttika month bathing observances; Mahāśivarātri (for Śiva worship/temple focus)

Frequently Asked Questions

The chapter models dharma as socially embedded practice: orderly honoring of parents and guests, sustained charitable giving (especially food-gifts), and public religious patronage are presented as producing communal well-being and stable moral continuity, with liberation/ascension framed as narrative consequences.

No explicit tithi, lunar month, or seasonal marker is stated in the provided verses. The practices are described as ongoing (e.g., nityaśaḥ dāna to Brahmins) and occasion-based (satra, śrāddha) without calendrical specification here.

Environmental ethics appear indirectly through the sacralization of place: the Sarasvatī-saṅgama and Mathurā are treated as landscapes where bathing, ritual order, and collective restraint confer ‘mahat-phala.’ This frames river confluences as protected ecological-cultural zones whose integrity is maintained through regulated, communal religious use rather than exploitative activity.

The narrative references Gokarṇa (central agent), Śuka (recipient and eponym of the satra and shrine), Śiva (as the deity of the installed āyatana/Śukeśvara), a rājā (king) mentioned as a source of material gain, and a Śabara with his wife as beneficiaries of the ritual economy; no explicit dynastic genealogy is provided in these verses.

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