Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
Gokarṇa Mahādeva is the area–protector of the dhāma on Mathurā’s northern side. Śivajī here is called Gokarṇa Mahādeva because Gokarṇa, the famous speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, worshipped him.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This is where Nanda Maharaja and the cowherd men of Vraja came to see the annual Shiva-ratri celebrations. This festival marks the waking-up of Lord Shiva who is said to have been meditating for many months deep within the snow on the summit of mount Kailash. There is also a small hill here called Kailash-tila where the ancient temple of Lord Shiva known as the Gokarneshwara Mahadeva Mandira is situated. From the top of the tila, or hill, there is a wonderful view of the River Yamuna. In the Saura Purana it is stated, “This place of Vishvanatha [Mahadeva] is known as Gokana-tirtha. It is famous throughout the worlds and is very dear to Vishnu”. The Adi-Varaha Purana says that anyone who has darshana of Gokarneshwara will be freed from all sins. Gokarneshwara Mahadeva is one of the four kshetra-palas or protectors of Mathura city and guards the northern region. The word ‘kshetra’ means the ‘area’ and ‘pala’ means ‘protector’.
In the temple can be seen the Deity of the celebrated sage Gokarna Rishi, who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva, and thus the Shiva-linga is called Gokarneshwara, meaning that Shiva is the most worshipful Deity of the sage Gokarna. It is said that this place was the tapa-bhumi of the sage Gokarna who came here from Karnataka in South India to perform penance on the banks of the Yamuna. The place where he had been engaged in severe penance near the sea coast in Karnataka became known as Dakshina-Gokarna, or the southern Gokarna, and this place near Mathura became known as Uttar-Gokarna, or the northern Gokarna. Situated within the temple compound one can see the samadhi of the great sage Gautama Rishi.
In the Padma Purana, the story of the sage Gokarna has been described. His father, who was childless, approached a rishi to ask for a boon to get a son. The rishi gave a sacrificial fruit that was to be eaten by the wife in order to become pregnant. Unfortunately, a hungry cow managed to eat the fruit before it could be given to the wife and within a short time the cow gave birth to baby boy. Although the baby was quite normal, its ears were like those of a cow, thus the baby became known as ‘Gokarna’, which means ‘cow-ears’. When he grew up he became a renowned sage and was famous as a great exponent of the Shrimad-Bhagavatam. His faith in the Bhagavatam was so great that even though his brother was a sinful rascal and became a ghost in his next life, Gokarna was able to deliver him from the body of a ghost, simply by his daily recitation of the Bhagavatam.
