Shloka 51
Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa
Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island
रक्षांसि वै हिमवति हेमकूटे तु गुह्का: । सर्पा नागाश्न निषधे गोकर्ण च तपोवनम्,हिमालयपर राक्षस, हेमकूटपर गुह्मक तथा निषधपर्वतपर सर्प और नाग निवास करते हैं। गोकर्ण तो तपोवन है
sañjaya uvāca | rakṣāṃsi vai himavati hemakūṭe tu guhyakāḥ | sarpā nāgāś ca niṣadhe gokarṇaṃ ca tapovanam ||
Sañjaya said: Indeed, on Himavat dwell the rākṣasas; on Hemakūṭa live the guhyakas; on Niṣadha reside serpents and nāgas. And Gokarṇa is a sacred grove of austerity—a tapovana—set apart for ascetic practice.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse maps a moral-sacred geography: different regions are portrayed as proper abodes for different beings, while Gokarṇa is marked as a tapovana—an environment dedicated to restraint and spiritual discipline—highlighting the value of tapas and ordered habitation in the world.
Sañjaya is describing notable mountains and sacred locales, listing which classes of beings are said to dwell in each (rākṣasas, guhyakas, serpents and nāgas) and identifying Gokarṇa specifically as a forest-hermitage of austerity.