Varaha Purana 188.37: Adhyaya 188, Shloka 37
Section on the Origin and Procedure of Piṇḍa-Rites and Śrāddha: Rules of Mourning Impurity
Aśauca
Uttara Bhāga · Gift of Parasol to a Brāhmaṇa and Divine Witness
छत्रमावरणार्थं तु दद्याञ्चैव द्विजातये ॥ आकाशे तत्र पश्यन्ति देवाः सिद्धपुरोगमाः ॥
chatram āvaraṇārthaṃ tu dadyāñ caiva dvijātaye | ākāśe tatra paśyanti devāḥ siddhapurogamāḥ ||
ChatramAvaraNArthaM tu dadyA~nchaiva dvijAtaye || AkAshe tatra pashyanti devAH siddhapurogamAH
आप ब्राह्मण को छत्र देना, उनको ढकने और बचाने के लिए। आसमान में देवता और सिद्ध लोग यह सब देखते हैं।
Sandhi Notes
- dadyāñ caiva → dadyāt ca eva
- dvijātaye as dative singular
- siddhapurogamāḥ → siddha-purogamāḥ
Varāha
Curious
Is giving a parasol to a dvijāti prescribed as dāna, and what divine witnessing is associated with it?
Give to the worthy with protective intent; righteous acts are ‘seen’ and thus bear fruit.
Include chatra (or protective necessities) in gifts to priests/guests; give with the awareness of accountability beyond human praise.
Dāna becomes a public act before cosmic witnesses; the chatra signifies dharmic sovereignty of protection—covering the worthy as one would uphold ṛta.
Chatra as ‘āvaraṇa’ (covering) paralleling yajña’s protective enclosure; devas-as-witnesses echo the idea that offerings are received/registered beyond the human plane.
Karma is not merely social but cosmic; witness-consciousness (sākṣitva) is mirrored mythically by devas observing righteous acts.
Give a parasol (chatra) to a dvijāti for protective covering; devas led by siddhas are witnesses in the sky.
Chatra-dāna accrues merit through divine witnessing and protection symbolism; withholding/insulting the worthy undermines puṇya and invites inauspiciousness.
Varāha Purāṇa 188.38-39 (sankalpa and cosmic rationale); Varāha Purāṇa 188.42 (effect on preta when beings are seen)
FAQs
It attests to dāna (ritual gifting) connected to hospitality and funerary-adjacent rites, and to the Purāṇic motif of superhuman ‘witnessing,’ which reinforces the perceived solemnity of correct procedure.
No geographic location is named; the verse uses the cosmological frame of ākāśa (sky/space) as the locus of witnessing.
To practice respectful giving (dāna) as protective honor for recipients, integrating generosity with careful ritual conduct.
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