Gokarna

Long ago there was a young man named Dantur. The people of his society repeatedly mocked and insulted him, saying he was "a boy without a father." Unable to bear the insults of the people, he went to the hermitage of the sage Pulah and, shedding tears, told him of his sorrow.

The sage Pulah, moved with compassion, consoled him: "On the bank of the Vagmati River there is a sacred pilgrimage site called Pitamaha. There, on the day of the new moon of the month of Bhadra, if you perform shraddha and the offering of pindas according to the rites, your ancestors will be delivered, and by the grace of Gokarneshwar Mahadev you too will find peace."

Dantur went to that holy site, bathed, took kusha grass and sesame in his hands, and sat down to offer the pindas. As soon as he offered the pindas, many ancestors appeared and stepped forward to receive them. Dantur was bewildered as to who his real father was. Then, by the yogic power of the sage Vishrava, Brahma himself appeared there and pointed out to Dantur his true father.

Dantur devotedly offered the pindas to his father. By the fruit of this virtuous deed performed at Gokarna, he succeeded in becoming a universal monarch in that very birth.

Recounting the glory of this pilgrimage site, the sage Pulah told another story as well: between King Vrishakarna of the land of Panchala and his unruly son Gokarna there were constant quarrels. In fits of anger, the two had cursed each other, saying, "May you dwell in hell."

After death, both father and son, by the fruit of their own curses, came to suffer the terrible torments of hell. For release from hell, Gokarna called upon the Bodhisattva Gaganaganja.

The Bodhisattva appeared and told him the remedy: "Go to the holy confluence of the Vagmati and the Chandrabhaga. There, establish Gokarneshwar Mahadev and offer pindas in your father's name; your lineage will be delivered."

Gokarna, as instructed, went to the bank of the Vagmati, established Gokarneshwar Mahadev, and gave the pinda offering. Thus both father and son were freed from the torments of hell, and that holy site became famous throughout the world by the name Gokarna.