Gokarna

Ravana was King of Lanka. His mother, Keshini, called him one day. She said, "Bring me a Siva-Linga for worship." God Siva lives in Kailasa. Ravana went there. He did tapas for a long time. Siva appeared to him. He asked, "What do you want?" Ravana said, "I want a Siva-Linga for my mother’s worship.”

Siva said, "I shall give you one. But you should not put it down on the way. Ravana agreed. Siva gave him a Siva-Linga. On the way, Ravana saw a young cowherd. He said to him, "Will you hold this Siva-Linga? I want bathe. You must not put it down."

The boy agreed. The boy was Lord Ganesha. He had taken the form of the cowherd. Ravana took a long time to return. So the boy was tired of holding the Siva-Linga. He laid it on the ground. He went away.

Ravana came back. He tried to lift the Siva-Linga from the ground. He could not. The Siva-Linga stuck to the ground like a rock. That place is Gokarna in Karnataka. That Siva-Linga is in a temple there. It is one of the sacred temples of India. People call the deity Mahabaleshwar.

(From Culture Course-BVB)