Gokarna
(“cow’sear”) Sacred site (tirtha) in the
state of Karnatakaon the shore of the
Arabian Sea, just south of Karnataka’s
border with the state of Goa. Gokarna is
most famous for a temple to the god
Shivain his form as Mahabaleshvara,
the “exceedingly powerful Lord.”
According to the site’s charter myth,
Shiva intends to perform the work of
creation, but before he begins he
becomes rapt in meditation in the
depths of the earth. The god Brahma
grows impatient with the delay and car-
ries out the work of creation himself.
Shiva is enraged when he discovers what
has happened and is about to force his
way up through the earth, which will
create a terrible cataclysm. The earth
appears to Shiva in the form of a cow,
who begs him to rise to the surface
through her ear. It is claimed that a cave
at Gokarna is the remnant of that pas-
sage through which Shiva rose.
Gokhale, Gopal Krishna
(1866–1915) College professor, legisla-
tor, and reformist Hindu, who worked
for much of his life with his older con-
temporary, Mahadev Govind Ranade.
Unlike Ranade, whose position as a
judge barred him from active political
involvement, Gokhale spent the last fif-
teen years of his life as a legislator.
Thirteen of these years were spent as
Bombay’s Indian representative to the
Imperial Legislative Council, the highest
lawmaking body in India. Like Ranade,
Gokhale sought to influence British pol-
icy by working within established insti-
tutions, in this case through the British
colonial government. This willingness to
compromise brought him opposition
from leaders such as Bal Gangadhar
Tilak, who advocated stiffer, even vio-
lent opposition to British rule.
Gokulnath
(1551–1640) The third guruof the reli-
gious community known as the Pushti
Marg. Gokulnath inherited the mantle
of leadership from his father Vitthalnath,
who was the successor to his father
Vallabhacharya, the community’s founder.
During his tenure Gokulnath helped
solidify the religious community and
paid particular attention to its organi-
zation. He is best known for compiling
several hagiographic works describing
the careers of his father and grandfa-
ther, to provide an appropriately rever-
ent picture for their followers.
Gokulnath was also the moving force
behind a text named the Chaurasi
Vaishnavan ki Varta (“Account of
eighty-four Vaishnavas”), although the
actual text was probably compiled by
Gokulnath’s disciple Hariray. This text is
a sectarian hagiography describing the
lives of eighty-four paradigmatic
Vaishnavas, all of whom—at least
according to the text—were associates
and disciples of Vallabhacharya and
Vitthalnath. The text’s real purpose is
not to provide a biography, but to illus-
trate the importance of the Pushti Marg
and its leaders.Golden Embryo
One of the earliest cosmological myths.
It first appears in the Rg Veda(10.121),
the oldest Hindu religious text.
According to this account, the universe
originally consisted of the Golden
Embryo (Hiranyagarbha). The Golden
Embryo stirred and evolved into
Prajapati, the creator of all things
and ruler over all creatures. In this story,
as with most other accounts of Hindu
cosmology, the cosmos originates
from a single source and is thus an
organic whole.Golwalkar, Madhav Sadashiv
(1904–1973) Second sarsanghchalak
(“Supreme Leader”) of the Rashtriya
Svayamsevak Sangh(RSS). The RSSis a
conservative Hindu organization whose
express purpose is to provide the leader-
ship cadre for a revitalized Hindu India;
for most of its history it has character-
ized its mission as cultural, rather thanGokarna