Gokarṇa

Gokarṇa is named as the far-off retreat where Bhagiratha, a king and royal sage, performs sustained austerities. Its significance in the account lies in the contrast it creates: while his ministers carry the burden of governing, he withdraws from the kingdom to pursue a demanding ascetic discipline.

Setting and Narrative Role

The poem places Gokarṇa at a distance from Bhagiratha’s royal responsibilities, identifying it as the place where he dwells during his long period of austerity. The passage gives no fuller description of the settlement or its landscape; its narrative identity comes instead from this association with withdrawal and religious practice.

Bhagiratha’s Retreat

Bhagiratha has no son to gladden his old age. He leaves his ministers to care for the state and its burdens, then lives at distant Gokarṇa and undertakes prolonged austerities. His retreat is therefore not an abandonment of the kingdom: the ministers continue to administer it while he devotes himself to his ascetic purpose.

Austerity and Significance

The account emphasizes the severity of Bhagiratha’s practice. He keeps his senses under control and raises his arms as he performs austerities amid five fires. Gokarṇa becomes the setting for this disciplined renunciation, marking a sharp contrast between the work of royal governance entrusted to others and the bodily hardship he accepts himself.