Varaha Purana 110.17 — Adhyaya 110, Shloka 17
The Glory and Procedure of the Grain-Cow (Dhānyadhenu) Donation
तावत्पुण्यं समधिकं व्रीहिधेनोश्च तत्फलम् ॥ तस्मान्नरेन्द्र दातव्या भुक्तिमुक्तिफलप्रदा
tāvat puṇyaṁ samadhikaṁ vrīhi-dhenoś ca tat-phalam || tasmān narendra dātavyā bhukti-mukti-phala-pradā
ততটাই—বরং তারও অধিক—ব্রীহি-ধেনুর পুণ্য এবং তার ফল। অতএব, হে নরেন্দ্র, এটি দান করা উচিত, কারণ এটি ভোগ ও মুক্তির ফল প্রদান করে।
Varāha (default instructor voice for this passage)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":false,"aspect_highlighted":"None","boar_form_detail":"None","earth_interaction":"None"}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":false,"speaker_role":"instructor","bhu_devi_state":"None","key_question":"None"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false,"specific_site":"None","parikrama_context":"None","krishna_connection":"None"}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"dana","instruction_summary":"The vṛhidhenu (grain-cow) gift yields surpassing merit; therefore a king should give it, as it grants both bhukti (worldly prosperity) and mukti (liberation).","karmic_consequence":"Observance brings dual fruits—prosperity and liberation-oriented merit; refusal/stinginess forfeits both social auspiciousness and spiritual uplift."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false,"vrata_name":"None","tithi_month":"None","promised_fruit":"None"}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":true,"symbolic_interpretation":"A Purāṇic bridge between pravṛtti and nivṛtti: a single dāna, when sacralized, is said to yield both enjoyment and release—suggesting that properly offered materiality can become a vehicle for transcendence.","yajna_varaha_imagery":"Dāna as yajña’s social extension: the ‘cow’ (dhenu) symbolizes abundance; grain symbolizes anna, the yajña-born sustenance; offering it functions like giving one’s ‘yajña-phala’ away, converting karma into purification.","vedantic_connection":"Mukti-fruit language implies citta-śuddhi and īśvara-prasāda: selfless giving reduces rāga-dveṣa and supports jñāna/bhakti maturation; the act becomes a sādhana when done without possessiveness."}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"soteriology through ethical action","core_concept":"Bhukti and mukti are not opposed when action is consecrated; dāna can be both socially stabilizing and spiritually liberating.","practical_application":"Give from surplus (especially food/grain) with devotion and non-attachment; treat governance and charity as spiritual disciplines, not mere policy."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics (gift economy)","Soteriology (mukti)","Royal instruction"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: didactic
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 110.16-110.17 (method and etiquette); Varāha Purāṇa 110.19 (specific worldly/heavenly fruits)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha’s instruction to a king: the grain-cow gift is extolled as supremely meritorious, granting both worldly enjoyment and liberation—depicted as two pathways or two fruits emerging from one act of giving.","item_prompts":["Varāha teaching a crowned king","grain-cow as central symbol","two symbolic fruits: royal prosperity (coins/fields) and liberation (light/lotus/ascending path)","scroll/banner with ‘bhukti-mukti’ motif","brāhmaṇa recipient in background as dharma-anchor"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: didactic tableau with Varāha and king; grain-cow glowing; left side prosperity symbols, right side serene mokṣa-light; balanced composition.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: gold-embossed grain-cow and mokṣa-aura; prosperity symbols rendered with rich ornament; Varāha and king with halos; devotional grandeur.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: refined courtly scene; subtle allegory of two fruits via iconographic vignettes; emphasis on calm spiritual promise.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari: lyrical split-scene—one side fertile fields and family well-being, other side ascetic serenity/temple silhouette; king listening attentively."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"assuring, proclamatory","suggested_raga":"Shankarabharanam","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"confident, benevolent"}
FAQs
It shows how Purāṇic texts connect material donations with both social welfare and ultimate goals, illuminating the ideological foundations of patronage.
No geographic location is specified.
To practice giving as an integrated ethic—supporting society while cultivating long-term spiritual aims.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Varaha Purana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.