Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 109
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 10910 Shlokas

Adhyaya 109: The Merit and Procedure of Donating the ‘Cotton Cow’ (Kārpāsa-dhenu)

Kārpāsadhenu-dāna-māhātmya

Ritual-Manual (Dāna-vidhi and Apotropaic Rite)

Prithvi ne Varaha se puchha ki cotton cow kya hoti hai. Varaha ne bataya ye ek khaas daan hai jo musibat mein kaam aata hai. Is daan ko grahan, Yugadi aur grah peeda ke waqt karna chahiye. Pehle jagah ko gobar aur darbha se saaf karna padta hai. Cotton cow ko kapde, phool aur agarbatti se sajana hota hai. Uska wazan sahi rakhna zaroori hai, dhokha nahi dena chahiye. Phir mantra bol kar ise kisi yogya vyakti ko dena hai. Isse insaan samsara se mukti paata hai aur zindagi mein shanti aati hai.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivī

Key Concepts

kārpāsadhenu-dānadāna-vidhi (procedural gifting)viṣuva and ayana (solar transition markers)yugādi and grahaṇa (epochal day and eclipse timing)grahapīḍā and ariṣṭa (astrological affliction and ominous signs)śauca and kṣetra-śuddhi (ritual purity and site preparation)gomaya-lepana and darbha (cow-dung plastering and sacred grass)tilā (sesame) as ritual substratemāna/bhāra grading (uttama–madhyama–adhama by weight)vitta-śāṭhya-varjana (prohibition of deceit in charity)
Recitation with translationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 109

Shlokas in Adhyaya 109

Verse 1

अथ कार्पासधेनुदानमाहात्म्यम् ॥ होतोवाच ॥ अथातः सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि धेनुं कार्पासकीं नृप ॥ यत्प्रदानान्नरो याति ऐन्द्रलोकमनुत्तम

Ab main kapas ki gaay daan ke baare mein batata hoon. Raja, yeh suno. Jo koi kapas ki gaay daan karta hai, woh Indra ki duniya pahunchta hai. Wahan sabse bada sukh milta hai.

Verse 2

विषुवे त्वयने पुण्ये युगादिग्रहणे तथा ॥ ग्रहपीडासु चोग्रासु दुःस्वप्नेऽरिष्टदर्शने

Jab din aur raat barabar hota hai, ya mausam badalne ka achha waqt hota hai. Jab grahan lagta hai, ya grah bura phal dete hain. Bura sapne aayein ya koi bura nishani dikhe.

Verse 3

नृणां च ग्रहपीडासु दुःस्वप्नाद्भुतदर्शने ॥ पुण्येष्वायतने राजञ्छुचिदेशे गवां गणे

Jab logon ko graha ka problem ho, bura sapne aaye ya koi achambha dikhe. Raja, aisa jagah chahiye jo punya ho, saaf ho, aur gayein wahan hon.

Verse 4

गोमयेनोपलिप्तायां दर्भानास्तीर्य वै तिलान् ॥ तन्मध्ये स्थापयेद्धेनुं वस्त्रमाल्यानुलेपनाम्

Gobar se jagah saaf karo, upar darbha ghaas aur til bichhao. Beech mein gay ko bithao, kapde aur phool se sajao.

Verse 5

धूपदीपादिनैवेद्यैः पूजयেচ्च विमत्सरः ॥ उत्तमा च चतुर्भारैरर्धेनैव तु मध्यमाः

Dhoop, diya aur bhog se puja karo, dil mein koi bura bhaav nahi rakhna. Uttam daan chaar bhaar ka hota hai, madhyam aadha bhaar ka.

Verse 6

भारेण चाधमा प्रोक्ता वित्तशाठ्यं विवर्जयेत् ॥ चतुर्थांशेन वत्सं तु कल्पयित्वा विधानतः

Adham daan ek bhaar ka kehte hain. Paise mein koi dhoka nahi dena. Ek chauthai hisse ka bachhada bhi rakhna hai.

Verse 7

कर्तव्या रुक्मशृङ्गी तु रजतस्य खुरान्विता ॥ नानाफलमया दन्ता रत्नगर्भसमन्विताः

Gay ke seeng sonne ke hon, khur chandi ke. Daant alag-alag phal ke hon, aur pet mein ratan bhare hon.

Verse 8

इत्येवं सर्वसम्पूर्णा कृत्वा श्रद्धासमन्वितः ॥ आवाहयेत्तां कार्पासधेनुं मन्त्रैर्द्विजातये

Jab sab kuch poora ho jaye, aur tum dil se yakeen rakho. Tab mantron ke saath us kapde ki gaay ko bulaao. Yeh gaay do logon ke liye hai.

Verse 9

दद्याद्धेनुं चर्मपाणिः प्रयतः श्रद्धयान्वितः ॥ पूर्वोक्तस्तु विधिः कार्यो दानमन्त्रपुरःसरः

Chamde ko haath mein lekar, dhyaan se aur dil se, gaay ko do. Pehle jo vidhi bataya gaya hai, usko follow karo. Daan ke mantron ke saath yeh karna hai.

Verse 10

यया देवगणः सर्वस्त्वया हीनो न वर्तते ॥ तथा उद्धर मां देवि पाहि संसारसागरात्

Devi, tumhare bina devataon ka koi group poora nahi hota. Tum mujhe upar uthao. Is janam-maran ke samundar se mujhe bacha lo.

Inside Adhyaya 109

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional milieu, the discourse turns to a remedial, merit-producing dāna: the kārpāsa-dhenu (a ritually constituted ‘cotton cow’) offered to avert misfortune and stabilize auspiciousness in the king’s realm and household life.

  2. Central event

    Hotṛ-like ritual authority instructs the king on when and why the kārpāsadhenu-dāna should be performed—especially at calendrical thresholds (viṣuva, ayana-saṅkrama, yugādi) and during grahaṇa—as well as in crisis-sign contexts such as grahapīḍā, duḥsvapna, and ariṣṭa-darśana.

  3. Climax resolution

    The rite reaches completion through strict kṣetra-śuddhi and installation of the symbolic cow, careful ‘grading’ by weight (uttama–madhyama–adhama) without vitta-śāṭhya (deceit), mantra-led invocation, and final transfer to a qualified recipient, paired with a protective supplication for release from saṃsāra and removal of afflictions.

  4. Closing phalashruti

    Implicit phala is apotropaic protection (śānti against graha/ariṣṭa), accrual of puṇya through śraddhā-governed giving, and a soteriological orientation (deliverance from saṃsāra); no distinct, standalone phalaśruti verse is indicated in the provided summary.

Geographical context

Spatial context is ritual-ecological: śuci-deśa (a purified place), puṇya-āyatana (meritorious/sacred precinct), and gavāṃ gaṇa (a cattle enclosure/herd-space) as the recommended setting.

Ritual instructions

  • Primary Ritualkārpāsadhenu-dāna (donation of a cotton-constituted cow) as śānti/apotropaic dāna
  • BenefitŚānti against graha/ariṣṭa and misfortune, reinforcement of auspicious order through śauca and regulated charity, accumulation of puṇya, and an explicitly stated protective-soteriological aim (relief from saṃsāra’s distress).

The narrative frame

  • Hotṛ (ritual functionary voice within the Varāha–Pṛthivī pedagogical frame)nṛpa (king) · Didactic, procedural, and admonitory (emphasizing śraddhā and prohibition of deceit)

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (with apotropaic undertones of Bhayānaka → Śānta)
  • Emotional ProgressionAnxiety about omens/planetary affliction is acknowledged and ritually contained; the mood shifts from crisis-management to composure through orderly vidhi, culminating in reassurance via dāna and protective prayer.

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot tirtha-specific in the provided chapter summary; the rite is portable and can be performed in any suitably purified precinct (śuci-deśa/puṇya-āyatana), including near a cattle enclosure, under guidance of a competent ritual specialist.
  • Best SeasonAligned to calendrical markers rather than season: viṣuva (equinoxes), ayana transitions (solsticial turnings), yugādi, and eclipse days; additionally whenever grahapīḍā/ariṣṭa is perceived.
  • Related FestivalViṣuva observances (equinox days), Makara/Karkaṭa saṅkrānti (ayana turnings), regional Yugādi/Ugādi new-year observances; grahaṇa (eclipse) observance days.

Frequently Asked Questions

The chapter presents dāna (charitable gifting) as an ethically regulated practice: it prescribes careful ritual procedure, emphasizes śraddhā (intentional sincerity), and explicitly warns against vitta-śāṭhya (deceit about one’s means or the gift’s quality). The internal logic frames correct giving as a stabilizing social act that counters misfortune and supports orderly life.

The text recommends performance at viṣuva (equinox), during ayana transitions (solar solstice-turnings), on yugādi (a calendrical ‘beginning of an age/period’ marker), and during grahaṇa (eclipses). It also situates the rite in response to grahapīḍā (planetary afflictions), duḥsvapna (bad dreams), and ariṣṭa-darśana (ominous perceptions).

While not explicitly ecological in modern terms, the chapter links ritual purity and orderly giving to the maintenance of auspiciousness in lived space: it requires a śuci-deśa, cow-dung plastering (gomaya-lepana), and careful preparation of the ground with darbha and tilā. In the Varāha–Pṛthivī interpretive frame, such prescriptions can be read as practices that ritualize care for place, livestock-associated landscapes, and communal stability.

The passage addresses a nṛpa (king) and identifies the instructing voice as Hotṛ (a Vedic ritual functionary). No specific dynastic lineage, named sage genealogy, or historical royal house is provided in the excerpt.

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