Varaha Purana 40.6: Adhyaya 40, Shloka 6
Ritual Procedure for the Kūrma Dvādaśī Observance
Pūrva Bhāga · Dāna-vidhi (Ritual Gift Procedures)
तं रत्नगर्भं तु पुरेव कृत्वा स्वशक्तितो हेममयं तु देवम् । समन्दरं कूर्मरूपेण कृत्वा संस्थाप्य ताम्रे घृतपूर्णपात्रे । पूर्णघटस्योपरि संनिवेश्य श्वो ब्राह्मणायैवमेवं तु दद्यात् ॥ ४०.६ ॥
taṁ ratnagarbhaṁ tu pureva kṛtvā svaśaktito hemamayaṁ tu devam | samandaraṁ kūrmarūpeṇa kṛtvā saṁsthāpya tāmre ghṛtapūrṇapātre | pūrṇaghaṭasyopari saṁniveśya śvo brāhmaṇāyaivamevaṁ tu dadyāt || 40.6 ||
taM ratnagarbhaM tu pureva kRRitvA svashaktito hemamayaM tu devam | samandaraM kUrmarUpeNa kRRitvA saMsthApya tAmre ghRRitapUrNapAtre | pUrNaghaTasyopari saMniveshya shvo brAhmaNAyaivamevaM tu dadyAt || 40.6 ||
पहले रत्नों भरा एक चीज़ बनाना, अपनी ताकत के हिसाब से। फिर सोना का भगवान का रूप बनाना। उसके बछे के रूप में समुंदर बनाना। एक तांबे के बर्तन में घी भरना और उसमें वो सब रखना। कलश के ऊपर यह सब रख के अगले दिन पंडित को देना है।
Sandhi Notes
- पुरेव→पुरा इव
- स्वशक्तितो→स्वशक्तितः (अव्ययीभाव)
- घृतपूर्णपात्रे (समास)
- पूर्णघटस्योपरि→पूर्णघटस्य उपरि
- ब्राह्मणायैवमेवं→ब्राह्मणाय एवम् एवम्
Varāha
Rightly ordered giving, proportionate to capacity (yathāśakti), becomes a means of inner purification and alignment with cosmic order.
Perform dāna with correct intention, proportional means, and ritual completeness (pūrṇa-kalaśa, ghee, proper timing), prioritizing qualified recipients (brāhmaṇa).
The rite miniaturizes cosmic support: Nārāyaṇa as the stabilizing base (kūrma) upholding the ‘ocean’ and the world-order, translating cosmology into a gift that re-aligns the donor with ṛta/dharma.
Kūrma as adhāra (support) for samudra; ghee-filled pātra as āhuti/tejas reservoir; pūrṇa-kalaśa as pūrṇatā (wholeness) and auspicious cosmic plenitude; ratnagarbha as ‘womb of jewels’ mirroring the earth’s hidden riches.
Iśvara as adhiṣṭhāna (ground) of the manifest; offering the ‘supported cosmos’ symbolizes surrender of possessiveness (ahaṃ-mama) and purification of saṃskāras through dāna.
Prepare a ratnagarbha offering with a gold deity-image as able, fashion an ocean-with-tortoise representation, place it in a ghee-filled copper vessel set on a full water-pot, and donate it next day to a brāhmaṇa.
Merit accrues through properly structured dāna; omission/incorrect performance implies loss of the stated purificatory fruit (implied by the sequence leading to sin-destruction in following verses).
40.40.7-9 (feeding brāhmaṇas, sin-destruction, Hari-loka fruit); 41.41.1 (transition to Varāha-dvādaśī framing later)
FAQs
It documents a Purāṇic dāna-vidhi (gift procedure) that integrates material culture (gold image, copper vessel, ghee, full water-pot) with cosmological symbolism (ocean and tortoise form), reflecting how ritual giving was framed in classical Sanskrit textual traditions.
No specific sacred geography or place-name is explicitly identified in this verse fragment; the imagery is cosmological (ocean, tortoise form) rather than topographical.
To give charitably in a structured manner—preparing the offering carefully and proportionate to one’s means (svaśaktitaḥ)—and to donate it to a brāhmaṇa as part of an ethical economy of gifting.
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