Varaha Purana 216.4: Adhyaya 216, Shloka 4
The Sacred Account of Gokarṇa, Śṛṅgeśvara, and Related Tīrthas
देवैर्देवर्षिभिश्चैव सिद्धैर्ब्रह्मर्षिभिस्तथा ॥ गोकर्ण इति विख्यातिः कृता वैशेषिकी वरा ॥
devair devarṣibhiś caiva siddhair brahmarṣibhis tathā || gokarṇa iti vikhyātiḥ kṛtā vaiśeṣikī varā ||
ദേവന്മാർ, ദേവർഷിമാർ, സിദ്ധന്മാർ, അതുപോലെ ബ്രഹ്മർഷിമാർ—ഇവരാൽ ഒരു വിശിഷ്ടവും ശ്രേഷ്ഠവുമായ ഖ്യാതി സ്ഥാപിക്കപ്പെട്ടു: ‘(ഇത്) ഗോകർണം’ എന്ന്.
Brahmā
Naming (khyāti) by assemblies of devas and ṛṣis is a sacral act: language fixes sanctity into cultural memory, turning geography into a living mantra-like identifier.
The ‘khyāti’ functions like a ritual saṃjñā: as offerings are ‘named’ and thereby empowered, so a place becomes ritually addressable as Gokarṇa.
Nāma-rūpa: the sacred is apprehended through name and form; collective recognition by realized beings legitimizes a locus of presence.
Sacred geography is sustained by smṛti (remembered tradition) and saṅgha (collective authority of the wise).
Preserve and transmit tīrtha-narratives and place-names with fidelity; cultural memory is part of dharma.
tīrtha / sacred coastal-forest region traditionally identified with Gokarṇa
Varāha Purāṇa 216 (Gokarṇa naming and śṛṅga narrative)
FAQs
It reflects how Purāṇic texts formalize a site’s identity through authoritative naming by elite transmitters (devas, ṛṣis), functioning as a cultural-historical ‘charter’ for pilgrimage geography.
Gokarṇa is explicitly identified as the established name of the locale.
The verse highlights consensus and collective recognition in establishing cultural heritage—authority is presented as distributed across multiple respected groups.
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