Chapter 6 — Ravana and Gokarna Mahabaleshwar

Literal. The chapter narrates how Gokarna's Mahabaleshwar shrine came to be. Ravana's mother Kaikaya wanted to worship a fresh Shiva linga daily; one day she could not get one, and made an earthen one. Ravana, to prevent this indignity, went to Kailas, shook it with his twenty hands trying to bring it to her. Shiva pinned him under Kailas; Ravana, in distress, sang Sama Veda using his own intestines as violin strings, was released, and given a portable Atma-Linga with the instruction never to set it down before reaching Lanka. Vishnu — alarmed that Ravana now possessed an immortality-conferring object — sent Ganesh disguised as a Brahmachari boy to trick Ravana into setting the linga down on the Gokarna seashore during evening Sandhya. Ravana's attempts to lift it deformed it into the shape of a cow's ear (Gokarna) and demonstrated his strength (Mahabaleshwar), giving the shrine its name.

Symbolic. The chapter is a classic Puranic etymology by deed — the place's name is encoded in the events that founded it. It also stages the recurring tension between capability (Ravana) and wisdom (Ganesh, Vishnu): a being with vast power who lacks the discrimination to keep it.

Structural. Ravana sings in 9 Rasas and 36 Ragas. The Atma-Linga must be worshipped for 3 years for full prowess. Recitation is for 108 laps of a particular mantra.