The cave contains a Shiva Lingam surrounded by stunning scenery. It is believed there was a rivalry among the Trimurtis before the Cosmos was formed. The creator was to be the Tapasvi, followed by the preserver and then the destroyer. At the time, neither land nor water had been created. After intense tapasya, Brahma and Vishnu emerged a hundred years later.Maheshwar had not yet returned to Tapasya. They waited a long time before beginning to create the cosmos. Eventually, Lord Shiva was confined on Earth. He then appeared, harnessing his third eye's abilities. Thus, the cave-like edifice was discovered when emerging from the dirt.After doing penance at Mount Kailash and reciting a self-written Shiva-tandava-stotram, Ravana, the demon-king of Lanka got the Atma linga from Shiva. Shiva told Ravana that the holy Atma linga should never be set on the ground because it would take root wherever it was placed.As Ravana neared Gokarna, Vishnu veiled the sunlight with his Sudarshana Chakra, knowing that Ravana was prompt in executing his daily rituals (Sandyavandhana- Wheel). Ravana paused at Gokarna for his evening prayers.Because he had to be careful with the Atma linga, he wondered what to do. He spotted a Brahmin lad (in disguise as Lord Ganesha) and ordered him to carry the Atma linga in his hands till he returned after the procedures were completed. Lord Ganesha consented to keep the linga solely on a single condition: he would be doing so till he could handle the weight of the linga and then summon Ravana 3 times, and if he did not appear before, he would cast the linga on the ground.When Ravana was executing his ceremonies, Lord Ganesha hurriedly summoned him three times, laid the linga on the soil, and fled. The Atma linga became firmly embedded in the soil almost immediately. Ravana realized that the Gods had deceived him.Ravana attempted to free it, resulting in the Linga's covers being thrown to the temples of Surathkal, Dhareshwar, Gunavanteshwar, Murudeshwar, and Shejjeshwar; however, the Gokarna Lingam did not budge. It just twisted into the appearance of a cow's ear and this is how the Shiva Caves and Mahabaleshwar Temple came into existence.