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)
Varāha narrates to Pṛthivī the aftermath of Gokarṇa’s auspicious settlement: he honors Śuka, his parents, and a virtuous household, and organizes communal worship and festivities in Mathurā. The narrative emphasizes orderly hospitality (satkāra), public religious patronage, and the performance of a large, obstacle-free rite accompanied by regular gifts of food to Brahmins. Gokarṇa establishes a major Śiva shrine named after Śuka (Śukeśvara) and conducts a grand satra-feast for Brahmins, which becomes known as the “Śuka-satra.” The text frames these acts as generating tangible social welfare and posthumous ascent for Śuka (and also a Śabara with his wife), linking tīrtha-bathing, śrāddha, gold and cow-gifts, and communal ritual to durable dharmic continuity and liberation.
Key Concepts
In this adhyaya
People
What happens
- How 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.
- Stories within
Aftermath of Gokarṇa’s auspicious settlement and his honoring of Śuka and parents; Founding of the Śukeśvara Śiva shrine (āyatana-pratiṣṭhā); Institution of the Brahmin-feeding Śuka-satra and its renown; Uplift of a Śabara and his wife through association with the ritual economy
- The turning point
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.”
- How it ends
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.
Tirthas
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).
Shlokas in Adhyaya 173
Verse 1
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ तत्र स्थित्वा यथान्यायं गोकरणः सर्वमङ्गलम् ॥ शुकं च मातापितरौ साधुभार्याचतुष्टयम्
वराह भगवान ने कहा, वहाँ रह के गोकर्ण ने सही तरीके से काम किया। वो बिल्कुल अच्छा इंसान था। उसने अपने बाप शुक को, अपनी माँ को, और अपनी चारों बीवियों का ख्याल रखा।
Verse 2
सम्मान्य पूजयामास यथाविभवशक्तितः ॥ मथुरावासिभिर्लोकैरुद्यानं कारयंस्तदा
उसने जितना हो सके उतना इज्जत दी और पूजा की। मथुरा के लोगों के साथ मिलकर उसने एक बगीचा बनवाया।
Verse 3
स्वयं च कृतवांस्तत्र अविघ्नस्य महामखम् ॥ भक्ष्यभोज्ये ब्राह्मणेभ्यो ददौ दानानि नित्यशः
खुद भी वहाँ एक बड़ा यज्ञ किया। कोई रुकावट न हो, इसलिए किया। ब्राह्मण लोगों को खाना खिलाया। रोज़ दान देता था।
Verse 4
गीतवादित्रमाङ्गल्यं पुत्रवृद्धौ यथोचितम् ॥ तत्सर्वं कृतवाँल्लोको गोकरणस्य महात्मनः
लोगों ने गाने बजाए। अच्छी बातें बोली। बच्चों और घर की बढ़ाई के लिए यह सब किया। गोकर्ण बड़ा अच्छा आदमी था, इसलिए लोगों ने उसके लिए यह सब किया।
Verse 5
एकैकं च परिष्वज्य प्रणिपत्य यथाक्रमम् ॥ मातापित्रोः प्रणम्याथ शिरसा पादपङ्कजे
उसने सबको एक-एक करके गले लगाया। सबको सही क्रम में झुकाया। फिर माँ और बाप के पास गया। उनके पाँव में सर रख के प्रणाम किया।
Verse 6
शुकं हृदि समालोक्य प्ररुरोद स वै वणिक् ॥ यस्य प्रसादाज्जीवश्च धर्मश्चानुत्तमा गतिः
उस वणिक ने अपने दिल में शुक को देखा। वो रोया। शुक की कृपा से इंसान को ज़िन्दगी मिलती है। धरम मिलता है। और सबसे बड़ी मंज़िल मिलती है।
Verse 7
विशिष्टेन मया प्राप्तो राज्ञो लाभः सुपुष्कलः ॥ शुक पुत्रान्मया प्राप्तमिह लोके परत्र च
तुम्हारी वजह से राजा ने मुझे बहुत फ़ायदा दिया। शुक, तुम्हारे बेटे ने मुझे यहाँ भी खुश किया। और मरने के बाद भी सब ठीक कर दिया।
Verse 8
एवं वसन्सुखं तत्र गोकरणः सह बन्धुभिः ॥ शुक नाम्ना कृतं तेन शिवस्यायतनं महत्
गोकर्ण वहाँ अपने परिवार के साथ खुश रहता था। उसने शिव का एक बड़ा मंदिर बनवाया। उस मंदिर का नाम शुक रखा।
Verse 9
शुकेश्वरं प्रतिष्ठाप्य दिव्यं सत्रं चकार ह ॥ ब्राह्मणानां शते द्वे च मिष्टान्नवरभोजने
उसने शुकेशर की मूर्ति लगाई। एक बड़ा भोज करवाया। दो सौ पंडित आए। उनको मीठा खाना और अच्छा खाना खिलाया।
Verse 10
शुकप्रदाने गोकर्णः फलं स्नानस्य सङ्गमात्॥ श्राद्धं सुवर्णैर्गोदानं कृत्वा तस्मै ददौ च सः॥
गोकर्ण ने तोता दान करके पुण्य पाया, जैसे किसी पवित्र संगम पर नहाने का फल मिलता है। उसने सोना दे के श्राद्ध किया, गाय दान की, और वो सब उसको दे दिया।
Verse 11
शबराय सभार्याय तेन स्वर्गं गतश्च ह॥ शुकोदरेण सहितो विमानवरमास्थितः॥
इस दान से वो शबर और उसकी बीवी के साथ स्वर्ग गया। शुक-उदर के साथ बैठ के अच्छा विमान लिया और उड़ गया।
Verse 12
एतत्ते कथितं सर्वं मथुरायां महत्फलम्॥ सरस्वतीसङ्गमस्य गोकर्णस्य शिवस्य च॥
यह सब मैंने तुम्हे बताया, मथुरा में यह सब का बहुत फल मिलता है। सरस्वती संगम, गोकर्ण और शिव, इन सब का महत्व है।
Verse 13
गोकर्णस्य तु सन्तानमक्षयं धर्मतोऽव्ययम्॥ सम्भूतं स सुखं भुक्त्वा ततो मोक्षमवाप्नुयात्॥
गोकर्ण की वंश चलती रहेगी, यह कभी खत्म नहीं होती। धरम के हिसाब से यह सदा रहता है। वो सुख भोग के बाद मुक्ति पाता है।
Verse 14
शुकसत्रमिति ख्यातं मृत्तो मुक्तिमवाप सः॥ विमानवरमारुह्य स्वर्गलोकं गतः शुकः॥
इसका नाम शुक सत्र पड़ा। मरने के बाद उसको मुक्ति मिली। अच्छा विमान पकड़ के शुक स्वर्ग लोक चला गया।
Inside Adhyaya 173
Tirtha focus
- 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
- Dialogue ToneDidactic tīrtha-māhātmya with ritual-prescriptive emphasis; celebratory of public dharma and patronage
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.
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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