Varaha Purana 104.11: Adhyaya 104, Shloka 11
The Eulogy and Procedure of the ‘Honey-Cow’ Gift
Madhudhenudāna
Pūrva Bhāga · Dāna-vidhi — Concluding Invocation and Transfer
प्रीयन्तां पितरो देवा मधुधेनो नमोऽस्तु ते॥ एवमुच्चार्य तां धेनुं ब्राह्मणाय निवेदयेत्॥
prīyantāṃ pitaro devā madhudheno namo 'stu te || evam uccārya tāṃ dhenuṃ brāhmaṇāya nivedayet ||
prIyantAM pitaro devA madhudheno namo.astu te|| evamuchchArya tAM dhenuM brAhmaNAya nivedayet
बोलना है के पित्र और देवता लोग खुश रहें। मधु-धेनु, तुझे नमस्ते। यह बोल के गाय को पंडित को देना है।
Sandhi Notes
- मधुधेनो = मधु-धेनो
- नमोऽस्तु = नमः अस्तु
- एवमुच्चार्य = एवम् उच्चार्य
Varāha
Ritual speech (mantra) directs the fruit of action toward higher beneficiaries, transforming charity into worship.
Before concluding a gift, explicitly dedicate it for deva and pitṛ satisfaction and then complete the formal handover.
The dāna is framed as a bridge between deva and pitṛ realms: the cow-gift becomes a ritual conduit for sustaining cosmic reciprocity (ṛṇa-traya sensibility).
The mantra functions like a yajña-āhvāna, converting gifting into a sacrificial act of appeasement.
Acknowledging pitṛs and devas situates the giver within relational dharma; gratitude and offering reduce egoic ownership (mamatā-kṣaya) through karma-yoga-like orientation.
Recite the pleasing-invocation for pitṛs and devas and then formally offer the madhudhenū to the brāhmaṇa.
Mantra-invocation aligns the act with pitṛ-yajña and deva-prīti, securing ancestral and divine satisfaction; omission weakens the intended saṅkalpa and fruit.
Varāha Purāṇa 104.12 (mantra-pūrva dāna); Varāha Purāṇa 104.14 (acceptance mantra)
FAQs
It preserves the closing formula that ritually frames the act of gifting as socially and cosmologically meaningful within Purāṇic literary culture.
No geographic location is mentioned.
To complete charitable giving with a respectful dedication and formal transfer to the recipient.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple 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 word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
