This is about a place that is Gokarna in Karnataka, this was on the occasion of gurupornima,this is sacred ceremony which is called as vedghosh,pandits who know all four vedas chant mantras on this occasion,Gokarna has great historical place which has many clues related to mahabharat and ramayana ,it has places like Jatayutirtha,Bharatgudi ,it is said that bharata brother of prabhu rama stayed at bharatagudi for sometime.Gokarna is as sacred as other pilgrimage places in india situated near Om beach and mahabaleshwara temple.
The history of Gokarna seems shaky and it is difficult to pin point the exact beginning, the loop holes and sudden gaps between centuries, however in terms the tales are far and abundant. Nevertheless they revolve around the central theme of the Atmalinga.
One of the most popular story of the atmalinga in Gokarna is of Ravana. Ravana performed severe penance at Mount Kailasa in order to obtain a boon from Siva. Siva, happy with this devotion, agreed to bestow a boon upon Ravana. Ravana was very pleased and asked for an atmalinga. Lord Siva created the atmalinga from his own heart and gave it to Ravana. The possession of atmalinga by Ravana created alarm among all the other gods. They called Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu had Ganesha – Siva’s son, sent to encounter Ravana and retrieve the atmalinga.
On his way, Ravana met Lord Ganesha disguised as a cowherd in the evening. This time of the day called for Ravana to perform his daily rituals of Sandhya vandanam. Ravana therefore placed the atmalinga in the cowherd’s (Ganesha) care and gave him strict instructions to not place it on the ground. The cowherd promised to call out Ravana’s name once the atmalinga got too heavy to hold. As soon as Ravana turned his back, Ganesha called his name three times and before Ravana could respond, he placed the linga on the ground, tricked Ravana and disappeared. Angry Ravana chased the cows but he could get hold of only the cow’s ear as the rest of the body had disappeared underground. It is this ear that is now seen in a petrified form, which has given the name Gokarna to this place.
Ravana also tried to lift the atmalinga but he couldn’t and therefore named it Mahabaleshwara (All powerful). Ravana’s efforts to remove the linga resulted in his throwing the coverings of the atmalinga to Dhareshwar, Gunavanteshwara, and Murdeshwar and Shejjeshwar temples. These five temples including the Gokarna temple make the panch-kshetra (five significant areas).
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