Varaha Purana 99.1: Adhyaya 99, Shloka 1
The Greatness and Rite of the Sesame-Cow (Tiladhenu) Gift
Uttara Bhāga · Tiladhenu-māhātmya (Merit of the ‘sesame-cow’ gift)
अथ तिलधेनुमाहात्म्यम् ॥ धरन्युवाच ॥ या सा माया शरीरात्तु ब्रह्मणोऽव्यक्तजन्मनः ॥ गायत्र्यष्टभुजा भूत्वा चैव त्रासुरमयोदधयत्
atha tiladhenumāhātmyam || dharaṇy uvāca || yā sā māyā śarīrāt tu brahmaṇo 'vyaktajanmanaḥ || gāyatryaṣṭabhujā bhūtvā caiva trāsuram ayodhayat
atha tiladhenumAhAtmyam || dharaNyuvAcha || yA sA mAyA sharIrAttu brahmaNo.avyaktajanmanaH || gAyatryaShTabhujA bhUtvA chai (ve) trAsuramayodhayat
अब तिलधेनु की बात आती है। धरती ने बताया कि ब्रह्मा की माया उस शरीर से निकली। वो गायत्री बन गई, आठ हाथ थे उसके। उसने असुर त्रासुर से लड़ाई की।
Sandhi Notes
- तिलधेनुमाहात्म्यम् = तिलधेनु + माहात्म्यम्
- धरन्युवाच = धरणी + उवाच
- ब्रह्मणोऽव्यक्तजन्मनः = ब्रह्मणः + अव्यक्तजन्मनः
- गायत्र्यष्टभुजा = गायत्री + अष्टभुजा
- चैव = च + एव
Dharaṇī (Pṛthivī)
Instructor-observer; narratively engaged and purposeful
Implicitly introduces the Tiladhenu-māhātmya by recounting the origin and martial manifestation of Māyā/Gāyatrī—setting up why this sacred gift/rite is powerful.
Sacred speech (Gāyatrī) is not merely recitation but a protective, world-ordering power emerging from the cosmic source.
Treat mantra and dāna as integrated: purity of intention, correct procedure, and reverence amplify transformative effects.
The verse sacralizes ritual power by rooting it in cosmic śakti: Māyā from Brahmā becomes Gāyatrī—suggesting mantra/ritual (chandas) is a living force that protects dharma.
Yajña-imagery is indirect: Gāyatrī (meter/mantra) as the animating principle of sacrifice and protection against asuric disorder.
Māyā arising from Brahmā’s ‘body’ points to the manifesting power that projects names/forms; Gāyatrī as vidyā that leads from vyakta to the unmanifest source.
Tiladhenu-māhātmya frame: sesame-related ‘cow-gift’ (tiladhenu) is praised as a potent dāna connected to cosmic powers (Gāyatrī/Māyā).
Properly performed tiladhenu-dāna yields purification and merit; neglect/disrespect of such sacred dāna forfeits its protective, sin-destroying efficacy (general purāṇic consequence).
99.2.0 (same śakti becomes Nandā); 99.3.0 (Bhu asks about Vaiṣṇavī; Varāha’s reply begins)
FAQs
It introduces a dāna-focused māhātmya while embedding it in mythic-cosmological imagery (Māyā, Brahmā, personified Gāyatrī), illustrating how ritual promotion and cosmology intertwine in Purāṇic composition.
No geographic location is specified in this verse; it is primarily cosmological and mythic.
By foregrounding a ‘māhātmya’ of a gift-rite, the passage frames ritual generosity as culturally significant, supported by mythic exemplification rather than coercive command.
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.
