Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 106
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 1069 Shlokas

Adhyaya 106: The Significance and Rite of Donating the ‘Curd-Cow’ (Dadhidhenudāna)

Dadhidhenudāna-māhātmya

Ritual-Manual (Dāna-vidhi and Phalaśruti)

Dalam bingkai dialog Varāha–Pṛthivī, adhyaya ini memberi pedoman ringkas (vidhāna) tentang dadhidhenudāna: sedekah ‘sapi’ yang diwujudkan/diwakili oleh dadih (curd) beserta persembahan terkait. Hotṛ mengajarkan kepada raja cara menyiapkan tempat suci dengan olesan kotoran sapi, menata ukuran/mandala tanah yang dihias, menghamparkan kuśa dan kulit kijang hitam, lalu menempatkan periuk dadih di atas tumpukan tujuh jenis biji-bijian. Disebutkan pula anak sapi emas berhias, kain penutup, bunga, dan wewangian. Pemberian diarahkan kepada brāhmaṇa yang layak—bergaris keturunan baik, berperilaku luhur, dan memiliki kebajikan seperti kesabaran. Disertai hadiah tambahan (alas kaki, payung) dan pelafalan mantra, kemudian pantang makanan serta laku tiga malam. Phalaśruti menegaskan ganjaran alam luhur setelah wafat bagi pemberi, saksi, dan pembaca/pendengar.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivī

Key Concepts

dadhidhenudāna (ritualized gifting through dairy symbolism)śaucavidhi (ritual purification with gomaya)saptadhānya (seven-grain heap as ritual base)dakṣiṇā and recipient-qualification (brāhmaṇa guṇa/ācāra)mantra-prayoga (use of ‘dadhikrāvṇ’ formula)niyama (ekāhāra and curd-based restraint)phalaśruti (merit claims: aśvamedha-phala, Viṣṇuloka)
Recitation with translationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 106

Shlokas in Adhyaya 106

Verse 1

अथ दधिधेनुदान माहात्म्यम् ॥ होतोवाच ॥ दधिधेनोर्महाराज विधानं शृणु सांप्रतम् ॥ अनुलिप्ते महीभागे गोमयेन नराधिप

Kini (dijelaskan) kemuliaan dāna ‘dadhidhenu’ (sapi-curd). Hotṛ berkata: “Wahai maharaja, dengarkan sekarang tata cara dadhidhenu. Wahai penguasa manusia, pada sebidang tanah yang diplester dengan kotoran sapi…”

Verse 2

गोचर्ममात्रं तु पुनः पुष्पप्रकरशोभिते ॥ कुशैरास्तीर्य वसुधां कृष्णाजिनकुशोत्तरीम्

Kemudian (siapkan) tempat seluas kulit sapi, dihiasi rangkaian bunga; hamparkan rumput kuśa di tanah, lalu letakkan kulit kijang hitam dan kuśa di atasnya.

Verse 3

दधिकुम्भं तु संस्थाप्य सप्तधान्यचयोपरि ॥ चतुर्थांशेन वत्सं तु सौवर्णं मुखमण्डितम्

Setelah menempatkan kendi berisi dadih di atas tumpukan tujuh jenis biji-bijian, hendaknya dibuat seekor anak sapi—dari emas, wajahnya dihias—dengan ukuran seperempat bagian.

Verse 4

आच्छाद्य वस्त्रयुग्मेन पुष्पगन्धैस्तु पूजिताम् ॥ ब्राह्मणाय कुलीनाय साधुवृत्ताय धीमते

Setelah menutupi persembahan itu dengan sepasang kain dan memuliakannya dengan bunga serta wewangian, hendaknya dipersembahkan kepada seorang Brāhmaṇa yang mulia keturunannya, berbudi luhur, dan arif.

Verse 5

क्षमादिगुणयुक्ताय दद्यत्तां दधिधेनुकाम् ॥ पुच्छदेशोपविष्टस्तु मुद्रिकाकर्णभूषणैः

Hendaknya ‘sapi-dadhi’ itu diberikan kepada orang yang berhias dengan kesabaran dan kebajikan sejenisnya; dan (ia dipersiapkan) dengan hiasan pada bagian ekor, berupa cincin dan perhiasan telinga.

Verse 6

पादुकोपानहौ छत्रं दत्त्वा मन्त्रिममं पठेत् ॥ दधिक्राव्णेति मन्त्रेण दद्याद्धेनुं सुपूजिताम्

Setelah memberikan sandal, sepatu, dan payung, hendaknya ia melafalkan mantra ini; dengan mantra ‘dadhikrāvṇa…’, hendaknya ia menyerahkan sapi itu yang telah dipuja dengan sempurna.

Verse 7

एवं दधिमयीं धेनुं दत्त्वा राजर्षिसत्तम ॥ एकाहारी दिनं तिष्ठेद्दध्ना च नृपनन्दन

Demikianlah, wahai yang terbaik di antara raja-ṛṣi, setelah memberikan sapi ritual yang terbuat dari dadhi (susu asam), wahai putra raja, hendaknya ia menjalani satu hari dengan hanya satu kali makan—dan makanan itu pun disertai dadhi.

Verse 8

यजमानो वसेद्राजंस्त्रिरात्रं च द्विजोत्तमः ॥ दीयमानां प्रपश्यन्ति ते यान्ति परमं पदम्

Sang yajamāna hendaknya tinggal di sana, wahai raja, selama tiga malam, demikian pula Brāhmaṇa yang utama; mereka yang menyaksikan pemberian itu akan mencapai keadaan tertinggi.

Verse 9

य इदं शृणुयाद्भक्त्या श्रावयेद्वापि मानवः ॥ सोऽश्वमेधफलं प्राप्य विष्णुलोकं च गच्छति

Seseorang yang mendengarkan ini dengan bhakti, atau membuatnya dibacakan, memperoleh buah Aśvamedha dan pergi ke alam Viṣṇu.

Inside Adhyaya 106

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional frame, the chapter turns from general dharma to a focused dāna-vidhi: how a ruler/householder should perform dadhidhenudāna (the ‘curd-cow’ gift) with śauca, correct layout, and a worthy brāhmaṇa recipient.

  2. Central event

    A stepwise ritual manual is delivered: purify and prepare the ground with gomaya, arrange kuśa and kṛṣṇājina, establish a measured/decorated ritual space, install a curd-pot upon a heap of seven grains, fashion/represent the ‘cow’ with specified adornments (golden calf, cloth, flowers, fragrance), recite the appropriate mantra (notably the dadhikrāvṇ formula), and formally transfer the gift with ancillary dakṣiṇā (e.g., footwear, umbrella) to a kulīna, virtuous brāhmaṇa.

  3. Climax resolution

    The rite culminates in the sanctioned handover (saṅkalpa + mantra + dakṣiṇā) to a qualified recipient, followed by the donor’s restraint (niyama)—regulated intake (ekāhāra) and curd-based dietary discipline—and a three-night observance associated with the officiant/leading brāhmaṇa, sealing the act as both material support and self-governed piety.

  4. Closing phalashruti

    A phalaśruti asserts extraordinary merit: the donor attains exalted post-mortem destinations (explicitly Viṣṇuloka in the chapter’s claims), with merit extending also to witnesses and reciters/hearers; the act is rhetorically equated with great-sacrifice-level fruit (aśvamedha-phala) when performed correctly and given to a worthy brāhmaṇa.

Geographical context

No explicit toponyms or regional ecologies are named in these verses. The setting is a generalized ritual ground (bhūmi/vasudhā) prepared with gomaya and kuśa, implying a domestic or sacrificial space rather than a specific pilgrimage landscape.

Ritual instructions

  • Primary RitualDadhidhenudāna (donation of the ‘curd-cow’ representation with curd-pot, grains, and dakṣiṇā)
  • BenefitMerit comparable to major Vedic sacrifices (aśvamedha-phala rhetoric), attainment of Viṣṇuloka/exalted heavenly states for the donor, and derivative merit for witnesses and reciters/hearers—conditioned on śauca, correct procedure, and worthy recipient-selection.

The narrative frame

  • Hotṛ (as the instructing ritual voice within the Varāha–Pṛthivī pedagogical setting)A generalized royal addressee (mahārāja/narādhipa/rājarṣi-sattama type) within the broader Varāha–Pṛthivī dialogue horizon · Prescriptive, procedural, and merit-oriented (vidhi + phalaśruti), with emphasis on social-ritual accountability via recipient-qualification

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (ritual serenity with dhārmic gravity)
  • Emotional ProgressionFrom disciplined preparation (śauca and ordered layout) → focused reverence during mantra-guided transfer → quiet austerity/niyama after giving → assurance and uplift through phalaśruti (Viṣṇuloka, great-merit equivalence).

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot tirtha-specific; best approached as a home/temple-based dāna rite performed with guidance from a qualified priest and an appropriate brāhmaṇa recipient rather than as a location-bound pilgrimage.

Frequently Asked Questions

The text emphasizes regulated generosity (dāna) performed with ritual cleanliness, correct procedure, and careful selection of a worthy recipient. Ethical value is located in disciplined giving—material support directed to a learned and virtuous brāhmaṇa—combined with self-restraint (niyama) after the donation. The chapter frames merit as arising from both the act and its orderly, socially accountable execution.

No lunar tithi, nakṣatra, month, or seasonal timing is specified. The only temporal markers are observance-lengths: the donor maintains a one-day regulated intake (ekāhāra) and remains with curd-based restraint for that day, while the officiant/leading brāhmaṇa is described as observing a three-night period (trirātra).

Environmental balance is implied through the ritual’s Earth-facing materials and purification logic: gomaya (cow-dung plaster) and kuśa (sacred grass) prepare the ground (vasudhā), highlighting a model where the terrestrial surface is treated as a managed, purified substrate for human action. The ‘cow’ symbolism (dhenū) and the use of grains (saptadhānya) also link prosperity and moral order to agrarian/ecological cycles, aligning with the Varāha Purāṇa’s broader Pṛthivī-centered worldview even when Pṛthivī is not explicitly named in the verses.

No specific dynasties or named sages are cited. The chapter addresses a generalized royal figure (e.g., mahārāja, narādhipa, nṛpa-nandana, rājarṣi-sattama) and prescribes gifting to a ‘kulīna’ brāhmaṇa of good conduct and virtues. The only explicit role-title is Hotṛ, indicating a Vedic ritual function rather than an individualized historical person.

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