गौतमस्य शिवदर्शनं पापक्षयवचनं च | Gautama’s Vision of Śiva and the Teaching on Sin and Purification
सरांसि पुष्करादीनि गंगाद्यास्सरितस्तथा । वासुदेवादयो देवाः संति वै गोतमीतटे
sarāṃsi puṣkarādīni gaṃgādyāssaritastathā | vāsudevādayo devāḥ saṃti vai gotamītaṭe
గౌతమీ (గోదావరి) తీరంలో పుష్కరాది పవిత్ర సరస్సులు, గంగాద్య పవిత్ర నదులు, అలాగే వాసుదేవాది దేవతలూ నిశ్చయంగా నివసిస్తారు।
Suta Goswami (narrating the Kotirudra Samhita account to the sages of Naimisharanya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Viśvanātha
Jyotirlinga: Tryambakeśvara
Sthala Purana: The Gautamī bank is described as a microcosm of all sacred geography: Puṣkara-like lakes, Gaṅgā and other rivers, and even major deities headed by Vāsudeva are present—asserting the kṣetra’s equivalence to pan-Indian tīrthas.
Significance: Bathing and worship here are portrayed as tantamount to visiting multiple tīrthas; the presence of ‘Vāsudeva and other gods’ elevates the site’s universal sanctity.
Shakti Form: Gaurī
Role: nurturing
Offering: pushpa
It proclaims Gautamī-taṭa as a concentrated tīrtha where the merit of many famed waters (Puṣkara, Gaṅgā, etc.) is accessible, indicating that devotion and sacred bathing there can support purification and Shiva-oriented liberation.
In the Koṭirudrasaṃhitā, tīrthas are praised chiefly as supports for Jyotirliṅga worship; the presence of devas at Gautamī-taṭa underscores the sanctity of approaching Shiva’s Saguna manifestation (Liṅga) there with faith, offerings, and mantra.
A practical takeaway is tīrtha-snān (sacred bathing) on the Gautamī bank followed by Liṅga-pūjā with the Pañcākṣarī mantra (“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), along with simple vows such as cleanliness, charity, and japa.