How the town of Gokarna got its name

The meaning of Gokarna means cow's ear. The lingam at the Gokarn temple resembles a cow’s ear and is underground, just within touching depth. Here’s the interesting legend related to its shape and location…

The Mythological Legend of Gokarna

Ravana once prayed to Lord Shiva and said he wanted to be the ruler of all worlds. This would mean that Ravana would also rule the heavens and thus be more powerful than even the Gods & Goddesses. The wise Lord Shiva gave Ravana a pindi (lingam) and told him that he should carry it with him in his hands wherever he traveled but should never place it down anywhere no matter what. So Ravana set out on his travels, firmly holding the pindi in his hands. 

When Lord Indra and the other gods came to know of Lord Shiva’s gift to Ravana, they were worried as it would make Ravana all-powerful. None of the Gods could think of a way to stop this, not even Lord Vishnu. 

It was Lord Ganesha who hatched a plan. He took the form of a young lad and approached Ravana when Ravana had reached the sandy beach near the ocean in Karwar. At that point of his travels, Ravana had wanted to relieve himself but did not want to place the pindi down anywhere. He saw the young lad and called out to him, requesting him to hold the pindi while he relieved himself. The lad agreed but said that he would not hold it forever and would count till 10 by which time Ravana should take it back. Ravana agreed and turned his back to the lad, relieving himself. The lad counted to 10 and since Ravana had not yet come back, placed the pindi on the ground. 

When Ravana finally turned around, he saw that the lad had put the pindi on the ground. He was furious, so much so that he hit the top of the lad’s head with a closed fist (that is why the idol of Ganesha here is said to have a slightly concave dent in the head). Ravana then tried to lift the pindi, but it was firmly grounded. Ravana made many attempts, holding the pindi tightly between the two palms of his hand to lift it & using all his might to raise it. It was all in vain. The pindi remained stuck to the ground & Ravana lost his boon of being able to rule all the worlds. That pindi became flat & took on the shape of a cow’s ear due to all those attempts of Ravana to pull it up.

Since the pindi is slightly below ground level, devotees can only touch it by hand through a hole.

This same temple has been replicated at Murudeshwar and the people in that area claim that it was there where Ravana stopped and the pindi was originally buried and not in Gokarn.