Varaha Purana 173.10 — Adhyaya 173, Shloka 10
Account of Gokarṇa’s Śuka-Satra, Temple Consecration, and the Resulting Merit
शुकप्रदाने गोकर्णः फलं स्नानस्य सङ्गमात्॥ श्राद्धं सुवर्णैर्गोदानं कृत्वा तस्मै ददौ च सः॥
śukapradāne gokarṇaḥ phalaṃ snānasya saṅgamāt || śrāddhaṃ suvarṇair godānaṃ kṛtvā tasmai dadau ca saḥ
ശുകദാനത്തിൽ ഗോകർണൻ സംഗമസ്നാനത്തിന്റെ ഫലം നേടി. സ്വർണ്ണത്തോടെ ശ്രാദ്ധം നടത്തി ഗോദാനം ചെയ്ത് അതെല്ലാം അവനു സമർപ്പിച്ചു।
Narrator (default framework: Varāha as instructor)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"Saṅgama (confluence) — unspecified"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"shraddha","instruction_summary":"Perform śrāddha properly (here ‘with gold’ as dakṣiṇā) and accompany it with go-dāna; such acts yield tīrtha-snāna-like fruit (saṅgama-snāna-phala).","karmic_consequence":"Observance grants high merit equivalent to confluence-bathing and supports ancestors; neglect/impurity in śrāddha and refusal of dāna obstruct pitṛ-satisfaction and reduces puṇya."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"ethics-as-tirtha","core_concept":"Merit is portable: sincere dāna and pitṛ-kriyā can confer the same fruit as physically bathing at a famed confluence.","practical_application":"If travel to major tīrthas is impossible, prioritize śrāddha integrity, dakṣiṇā, and go-dāna/charity as accessible paths to purification."}
Subject Matter: ["Heritage Sites","Ethics","Ritual Culture"]
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
Type: tirtha (sacred waters)
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 173.9 (satra and feeding)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Gokarṇa offers the śuka-gift and then performs śrāddha with golden dakṣiṇā and a cow-gift, visually linked to the sanctity of a river confluence.","item_prompts":["river confluence backdrop (two streams meeting)","śrāddha setup (piṇḍa, darbha grass, water vessel)","gold coins/ornaments as dakṣiṇā","cow being gifted with garland","Gokarṇa in ritual posture"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized rivers meeting; ritual implements clearly outlined; cow with decorative cloth; warm sacred palette.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-leaf emphasis on dakṣiṇā and ritual vessels; ornate cow adornments; confluence rendered as patterned blue waves.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: delicate śrāddha details (darbha, piṇḍa); serene riverbank; soft luminosity around gifts.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: crisp river confluence; small ritual scene under a tree; cow and gold depicted with minimal but clear iconography."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"ritual-solemn, purificatory","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow-medium","voice_tone":"grave, precise diction on ‘śrāddhaṃ’ ‘suvarṇaiḥ’ ‘go-dānaṃ’ and ‘saṅgamāt’"}
FAQs
It reflects Purāṇic tīrtha-literature where merit (phala) is linked to sacred confluences and to socially recognized rites such as śrāddha and dāna.
A “saṅgama” (river confluence) associated here with Sarasvatī and the Gokarṇa tradition; precise modern identification varies across regional tīrtha-mappings.
The verse foregrounds generosity (dāna) and ancestral responsibility (śrāddha) as culturally valued actions connected with pilgrimage settings.
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