Varaha Purana 112.7: Adhyaya 112, Shloka 7
Praise and Procedure of Donating the Two-Faced Kapilā Cow and the Golden Pot
Hema-kumbha
Uttara Bhāga · Dāna–Vrata–Māhātmya (Kapilā-dāna / Homadhenu narrative)
पवित्राणां पवित्रं च मङ्गलानां च मङ्गलम् ॥ पुण्यानां परमं पुण्यं कपिला च वसुन्धरे
pavitrāṇāṃ pavitraṃ ca maṅgalānāṃ ca maṅgalam || puṇyānāṃ paramaṃ puṇyaṃ kapilā ca vasundhare
pavitrANAM pavitraM cha ma~NgalAnAM cha ma~Ngalam || puNyAnAM paramaM puNyaM kapilA cha vasundhare
ഹേ വസുന്ധരേ, പവിത്രങ്ങളിൽ അവൾ പരമപവിത്രം, മംഗളങ്ങളിൽ പരമമംഗളം; പുണ്യങ്ങളിൽ പരമോന്നത പുണ്യം—കപിലാ ഗാവാണ്.
Sandhi Notes
- verse uses genitive plural + predicative nominatives. ‘वसुन्धरे’ is vocative singular of वसुन्धरा
Varāha
Reassured; receiving valuation of sacred gift-object
Dharma recognizes gradations of purifying means; some acts/objects are singled out as ‘parama’ due to their role in sustaining yajña and ethical order.
Prioritize high-impact dharmic acts (like go-dāna with right intention and care), while maintaining non-injury and reverence toward living beings.
Direct address to Vasundharā (Bhūdevī), consoling/affirming through praise of Kapilā as supreme purifier and merit
Superlative praise functions as a ritual-theological elevation: Kapilā embodies pāvitrī-śakti (purifying power) akin to a living yajña-instrument; Varāha’s discourse aligns dharma with sanctifying agencies within creation.
Kapilā as ‘pavitrāṇāṃ pavitram’ parallels the ‘pavitra’ (filter/strainer) in soma/ghṛta contexts—cow as the source of ghṛta that feeds Agni, thus purifying the rite and the doer.
Purity (śuddhi) as prerequisite for higher knowledge; external purifiers (dāna, yajña-supports) aid inner purification, supporting the path toward śānta and mokṣa-oriented living.
Kapilā is declared the supreme purifier and highest puṇya, establishing go-dāna (Kapilā-dāna) as exceptionally meritorious.
Performing Kapilā-related dāna/ritual yields paramount auspiciousness and purification; neglect forfeits a high-grade means of puṇya.
Varāha Purāṇa 112.3-6 (Kapilā/homadhenu inquiry; origin for yajña; promised purification by hearing)
FAQs
The verse employs a classical superlative style common in Purāṇic māhātmya passages, reflecting how texts elevate certain practices/objects as paradigmatic for moral and ritual discourse.
No specific location is identified; the address “Vasundharā” personifies Earth as interlocutor.
It highlights an ideal of purification and auspiciousness, presenting Kapilā as a symbolic focal point for merit-oriented conduct.
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