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)

Varāha narra a Pṛthivī o que sucede após o auspicioso assentamento de Gokarṇa: ele honra Śuka, seus pais e uma casa virtuosa, e promove em Mathurā culto comunitário e festividades. A narrativa destaca a hospitalidade ordenada e respeitosa (satkāra), o patrocínio religioso público e a realização de um grande rito sem obstáculos, acompanhado de doações regulares de alimento aos brāhmaṇas. Gokarṇa estabelece um importante santuário de Śiva nomeado em honra de Śuka, Śukeśvara, e conduz um grandioso banquete-satra para os brāhmaṇas, conhecido como “Śuka-satra”. O texto apresenta tais atos como geradores de bem-estar social concreto e de ascensão póstuma para Śuka (e também para um Śabara com sua esposa), vinculando banho em tīrthas, śrāddha, dádivas de ouro e vacas e o rito comunitário à continuidade duradoura do dharma e à libertação.

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

Śrī Varāha disse: Tendo permanecido ali conforme ao que é devido, Gokarṇa, repleto de toda auspiciosidade, honrou Śuka, sua mãe e seu pai, e o grupo das quatro esposas virtuosas.

Verse 2

सम्मान्य पूजयामास यथाविभवशक्तितः ॥ मथुरावासिभिर्लोकैरुद्यानं कारयंस्तदा

Ele lhes prestou honra e ofereceu culto conforme seus meios e capacidade; e então, com o povo que habitava em Mathurā, mandou fazer um jardim.

Verse 3

स्वयं च कृतवांस्तत्र अविघ्नस्य महामखम् ॥ भक्ष्यभोज्ये ब्राह्मणेभ्यो ददौ दानानि नित्यशः

E ele mesmo realizou ali um grande sacrifício (yajña) para a remoção de obstáculos; e aos brāhmaṇas dava diariamente dádivas de alimentos e refeições.

Verse 4

गीतवादित्रमाङ्गल्यं पुत्रवृद्धौ यथोचितम् ॥ तत्सर्वं कृतवाँल्लोको गोकरणस्य महात्मनः

Cantos, música de instrumentos e festividades auspiciosas—adequadas ao aumento de filhos e à prosperidade—tudo isso foi realizado pelo povo para o magnânimo Gokarṇa.

Verse 5

एकैकं च परिष्वज्य प्रणिपत्य यथाक्रमम् ॥ मातापित्रोः प्रणम्याथ शिरसा पादपङ्कजे

Abraçando cada um por sua vez e prostrando-se na devida ordem, em seguida prestou reverência à mãe e ao pai, colocando a cabeça sobre seus pés semelhantes ao lótus.

Verse 6

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

Ao contemplar Śuka em seu coração, aquele mercador chorou; pois por sua graça obtêm-se a vida, o dharma e o destino supremo, sem igual.

Verse 7

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

Por tua excelência, obtive do rei um ganho muitíssimo abundante; e, ó Śuka, por meio dos filhos alcancei plenitude neste mundo e no outro.

Verse 8

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

Assim, vivendo ali felizmente com seus parentes, Gokarṇa mandou fazer um grande santuário de Śiva, trazendo o nome de Śuka.

Verse 9

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

Tendo instalado Śukeśvara, realizou um satra esplêndido; e para duzentos brāhmaṇas houve um excelente banquete com alimentos doces.

Verse 10

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

Ao oferecer o papagaio (śuka), Gokarṇa obteve o fruto do banho na confluência. Tendo realizado o śrāddha com ouro e feito a dádiva de uma vaca, de fato o entregou a ele.

Verse 11

शबराय सभार्याय तेन स्वर्गं गतश्च ह॥ शुकोदरेण सहितो विमानवरमास्थितः॥

Por isso, ele foi ao céu juntamente com o Śabara e sua esposa. Acompanhado por Śuka-udara, montou um excelente carro celestial.

Verse 12

एतत्ते कथितं सर्वं मथुरायां महत्फलम्॥ सरस्वतीसङ्गमस्य गोकर्णस्य शिवस्य च॥

Tudo isto te foi narrado: o grande fruto associado a Mathurā — o da confluência do Sarasvatī, o de Gokarṇa e também o de Śiva.

Verse 13

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

Para Gokarṇa surgiu uma linhagem: imperecível e, pelo dharma, inesgotável. Tendo desfrutado da felicidade, alcançaria então a libertação (mokṣa).

Verse 14

शुकसत्रमिति ख्यातं मृत्तो मुक्तिमवाप सः॥ विमानवरमारुह्य स्वर्गलोकं गतः शुकः॥

Ficou conhecido como «Śuka-satra»; ao morrer, ele alcançou a libertação. Montando um excelente carro celestial, Śuka foi ao mundo do céu.

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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