Shloka 51
Dāna for the Preta: Supreme Gifts, Yama’s Pacification, and Viṣṇu-Smaraṇa at the Time of Death
दत्त्वा वरां सकृदपि कपिलां सर्वकामिकाम् / उद्धरेदन्तकाले स आत्मानं पापसञ्चयात्
dattvā varāṃ sakṛdapi kapilāṃ sarvakāmikām / uddharedantakāle sa ātmānaṃ pāpasañcayāt
ഒരിക്കൽ പോലും സർവകാമഫലദായിനിയായ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ കപിലാ പശുവിനെ ദാനം ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ, അന്ത്യകാലത്ത് പാപസഞ്ചയത്തിൽ നിന്ന് സ്വയം രക്ഷപ്പെടുന്നു।
Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Yamaloka Journey
Concept: Kapilā-dāna (gift of a tawny cow), even once, can counteract accumulated pāpa and aid the self at death.
Vedantic Theme: Upāya within karma-kāṇḍa: remedial merit (puṇya) can mitigate karmic burden; yet ultimate freedom still transcends merit/demerit.
Application: Engage in sincere dāna (especially life-sustaining gifts) with right intention; plan ethical giving before crisis; pair charity with inner reform.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.30: surrounding verses on karmic accounting and cow-related protective prayers
FAQs
This verse states that even a single offering of a kapilā cow functions as a powerful act of dāna that rescues the donor from accumulated sins, especially at the critical moment of death.
It highlights antakāla as a decisive threshold when karmic results press upon the jīva; meritorious acts like dāna can counteract pāpa-sañcaya and support a safer passage beyond death.
Practice sincere charity and support of dharmic causes (traditionally including cow-care and feeding) as a lifelong discipline, so that one’s end-of-life state is strengthened by merit rather than burdened by wrongdoing.