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)
婆罗诃向大地女神毗提毗叙述瞿迦尔那吉祥定居后的余波：他礼敬舒迦及其父母与一户贤善之家，并在摩图罗组织大众礼拜与庆典。叙事强调有序的敬待与款待（satkāra）、公开护持宗教功德，以及无障碍地完成宏大仪式，并持续以食施供养婆罗门。瞿迦尔那建立以舒迦命名的湿婆大祠“舒迦伊湿伐罗”（Śukeśvara），并为婆罗门举行盛大的萨特拉斋宴，称为“舒迦萨特拉”。经文指出，这些行为带来切实的社会福祉，并使舒迦（以及一位舍婆罗与其妻）得以身后上升；并将圣地沐浴、施行 śrāddha、布施黄金与乳牛及共同仪轨，联系到持久的法（dharma）传续与解脱。
Speakers
Key Concepts
Shlokas in Adhyaya 173
Verse 1
श्रीवराह उवाच ॥ तत्र स्थित्वा यथान्यायं गोकरणः सर्वमङ्गलम् ॥ शुकं च मातापितरौ साधुभार्याचतुष्टयम्
圣瓦拉哈说道：他在那里依礼而住；具足一切吉祥的戈迦尔那，礼敬了舒迦、其母与父，以及四位贤德之妻的群体。
Verse 2
सम्मान्य पूजयामास यथाविभवशक्तितः ॥ मथुरावासिभिर्लोकैरुद्यानं कारयंस्तदा
他依其资财与能力而致敬供养；当时又与住在摩图罗的人们一起，营建了一座园林。
Verse 3
स्वयं च कृतवांस्तत्र अविघ्नस्य महामखम् ॥ भक्ष्यभोज्ये ब्राह्मणेभ्यो ददौ दानानि नित्यशः
他亲自在那里举行了为除障无碍而设的大祭（yajña）；并且常常向婆罗门施与布施，供给可食之物与餐食。
Verse 4
गीतवादित्रमाङ्गल्यं पुत्रवृद्धौ यथोचितम् ॥ तत्सर्वं कृतवाँल्लोको गोकरणस्य महात्मनः
歌咏、乐器之奏与吉庆仪典——适于子嗣增长与兴盛——这一切都由众人为了大德的戈迦尔那而举行。
Verse 5
एकैकं च परिष्वज्य प्रणिपत्य यथाक्रमम् ॥ मातापित्रोः प्रणम्याथ शिरसा पादपङ्कजे
他依次拥抱众人，并按次第礼拜；随后向父母顶礼，将头安放在他们如莲花般的双足之上。
Verse 6
शुकं हृदि समालोक्य प्ररुरोद स वै वणिक् ॥ यस्य प्रसादाज्जीवश्च धर्मश्चानुत्तमा गतिः
那商人于心中观见圣者舒迦（Śuka），便放声而泣；因其恩德而得生命、得法（dharma），并得无上归趣。
Verse 7
विशिष्टेन मया प्राप्तो राज्ञो लाभः सुपुष्कलः ॥ शुक पुत्रान्मया प्राप्तमिह लोके परत्र च
凭借你的殊胜之德，我从国王处获得极丰厚的收益；而且，噢舒迦（Śuka），因得子嗣，我在此世与彼世皆获圆满。
Verse 8
एवं वसन्सुखं तत्र गोकरणः सह बन्धुभिः ॥ शुक नाम्ना कृतं तेन शिवस्यायतनं महत्
他与亲族在彼处安乐而居；果迦耳那（Gokarṇa）遂建造一座宏伟的湿婆圣殿，并以“舒迦”之名命之。
Verse 9
शुकेश्वरं प्रतिष्ठाप्य दिव्यं सत्रं चकार ह ॥ ब्राह्मणानां शते द्वे च मिष्टान्नवरभोजने
安奉舒迦主（Śukeśvara）之后，他举行了庄严殊胜的萨特拉（satra）祭；并为二百位婆罗门设下上妙的甜食盛宴。
Verse 10
शुकप्रदाने गोकर्णः फलं स्नानस्य सङ्गमात्॥ श्राद्धं सुवर्णैर्गोदानं कृत्वा तस्मै ददौ च सः॥
以奉献鹦鹉（śuka）之施，戈迦尔那（Gokarṇa）得到了在两河汇合处沐浴的功德果报。又以黄金行施作施罗陀（śrāddha），并布施一头母牛，确实将其赠与彼人。
Verse 11
शबराय सभार्याय तेन स्वर्गं गतश्च ह॥ शुकोदरेण सहितो विमानवरमास्थितः॥
由此，他与舍婆罗（Śabara）及其妻一同升往天界。并与“鹦鹉腹者”（Śuka-udara）相伴，登上一乘殊胜的天车。
Verse 12
एतत्ते कथितं सर्वं मथुरायां महत्फलम्॥ सरस्वतीसङ्गमस्य गोकर्णस्य शिवस्य च॥
这一切都已为你宣说——与摩图罗（Mathurā）相关的广大果报：即萨拉斯瓦蒂河汇合处之功德、戈迦尔那之功德，以及湿婆（Śiva）之功德。
Verse 13
गोकर्णस्य तु सन्तानमक्षयं धर्मतोऽव्ययम्॥ सम्भूतं स सुखं भुक्त्वा ततो मोक्षमवाप्नुयात्॥
对戈迦尔那而言，兴起了一支后裔——不坏不灭，并由正法（dharma）而不耗不竭。享受安乐之后，他将进而证得解脱（mokṣa）。
Verse 14
शुकसत्रमिति ख्यातं मृत्तो मुक्तिमवाप सः॥ विमानवरमारुह्य स्वर्गलोकं गतः शुकः॥
此事被称为“鹦鹉祭会”（Śuka-satra）；他身亡之后，获得了解脱。乘上殊胜的天车，鹦鹉（Śuka）前往天界之世。
Inside Adhyaya 173
How it unfolds
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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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