Varaha Purana - Adhyaya 101
Varaha PuranaAdhyaya 10115 Shlokas

Adhyaya 101: The Eulogy and Procedure of the ‘Rasadhenu’ (Sugarcane-Juice Cow) Donation

Rasadhenu-dāna-māhātmya

Ritual-Manual (Dāna-vidhi and Phalaśruti)

Dalam bingkai pengajaran Varāha–Pṛthivī, adhyāya ini memuat panduan ritual yang disampaikan oleh hotṛ kepada seorang raja tentang tatacara dāna ‘rasadhenu’. Diterangkan pembinaan ikon ‘lembu’ daripada bahan-bahan upacara dengan pusat sebuah periuk berisi jus tebu (ikṣu-rasa) serta anak lembu yang sepadan; dihuraikan perincian simbolik seperti tanduk emas, ambing berisi ghee, mulut dan lidah daripada gula, gigi seperti buah, belakang tembaga, mata laksana mutiara, dan hiasan lain. Turut ditetapkan susunan lampu serta empat bekas biji bijan mengikut arah. Setelah siap, rasadhenu hendaklah didermakan kepada brāhmaṇa grihastha yang layak (śrotriya, kuṭumbin), dengan amalan puasa bagi penderma dan penerima. Phalaśruti menegaskan penyucian daripada pāpa dan pencapaian keadaan luhur selepas wafat, mengisyaratkan bahawa tertib ritual menyokong keseimbangan dharma di bumi.

Speakers

VarāhaPṛthivī

Key Concepts

rasadhenu (ritual ‘cow’ made of rasa/ikṣu)dāna-vidhi (gift procedure)śrotriya-kuṭumbin (qualified recipient)phalaśruti (merit/benefit claims)dik-vinyāsa (four-direction ritual placement)upavāsa (ekakāla / fasting observance)pāpa-śodhana (purificatory framing of donation)pṛthivī-dhāraṇa (implicit terrestrial order via dharma)
Sanskrit recitationVaraha Purana Adhyaya 101

Shlokas in Adhyaya 101

Verse 1

अथ रसधेनुदानमाहात्म्यम् ॥ होतॊवाच ॥ रसधेनुविधानं ते कथयामि समासतः ॥ अनु्लिप्ते महीपृष्ठे कृष्णाजिनकुशास्तरे

Kini bermula kisah tentang kemuliaan (māhātmya) sedekah rasadhenu. Hotṛ berkata: “Aku akan ceritakan kepadamu secara ringkas tatacara rasadhenu—di atas tanah yang telah disapu/dioles dan disediakan, dengan hamparan kulit kijang hitam (kṛṣṇājina) serta rumput kuśa sebagai alas.”

Verse 2

रसस्य तु घटं राजन् सम्पूर्णं त्वैक्षवस्य तु ॥ तद्वत्ससङ्कल्पयेत्प्राज्ञश्चतुर्थांशेन वत्सकम् ॥

Wahai raja, hendaklah disediakan sebuah bekas yang diisi penuh dengan air tebu; dan orang bijaksana juga membentuk seekor anak lembu yang sepadan dengannya, dengan ukuran suku bahagian.

Verse 3

तुरीयांशेन वत्सं तु तत्पार्श्वे स्थापयेत्सुधीः ॥ इक्षुदण्डमयाः पादा रजतस्य खुरैर्युताः ॥

Dengan ukuran suku bahagian, orang bijaksana hendaklah meletakkan anak lembu itu di sisinya. Kakinya dibuat daripada batang tebu, dengan kuku yang dipasang daripada perak.

Verse 4

एवं कार्या रसैर्धेनुरिक्षुपादसमन्विता ।

Demikianlah hendaklah dibuat ‘lembu-ras’ (lembu daripada sari), yang dilengkapi kaki-kaki daripada tebu.

Verse 5

सुवर्णशृङ्गाभरणा वस्त्रपुच्छा घृतस्तनी ॥ पुष्पकम्बलसंयुक्ता शर्करामुखजिह्वका ॥

Ia hendaklah dihiasi dengan tanduk emas, berekor kain, dan berambing minyak sapi (ghee); diselubungi selimut bunga, serta bermulut dan berlidah daripada gula.

Verse 6

दन्ताः फलमयास्तस्याः पृष्ठं ताम्रमयं शुभम् ॥ पुष्परोमां तु राजेन्द्र मुक्ताफलकृतेक्षणाम् ॥

Giginya dibuat daripada buah-buahan, dan belakangnya yang mulia daripada tembaga. Wahai tuan para raja, ‘bulu’nya daripada bunga-bunga, dan matanya dibentuk daripada mutiara.

Verse 7

सप्तव्रीहिसमायुक्तां चतुर्दिक्षु च दीपिताम् ॥ सर्वोपस्करसयुक्तां सर्वगन्धादिवासिताम् ॥

Hendaklah ia disertai tujuh jenis padi/beras, diterangi pada empat penjuru, dilengkapkan dengan segala kelengkapan yang diperlukan, serta diharumkan dengan segala jenis wangian dan seumpamanya.

Verse 8

चत्वारि तिलपात्राणि चतुर्दिक्षु निवेशयेत् ॥ सर्वलक्षणयुक्ताय श्रोत्रियाय कुटुम्बिने ॥

Hendaklah diletakkan empat bekas bijan pada empat penjuru; kemudian (diberikan) kepada seorang śrotriya yang berumah tangga serta memiliki segala tanda kelayakan.

Verse 9

रसधेनुः प्रदातव्या स्वर्गकामेन नित्यदा ॥ दाता स्वर्गमवाप्नोति सर्वपापविवर्जितः ॥

Sesiapa yang menginginkan syurga hendaklah sentiasa menderma Rasadhenu; si pemberi mencapai syurga, bebas daripada segala dosa.

Verse 10

दीयमानां तु पश्यन्ति ते च यान्ति परां गतिम् ॥ धेनुं च पूजयित्वाग्रे गन्धधूपस्रगादिभिः ॥

Mereka yang menyaksikannya ketika sedang diberikan juga mencapai keadaan tertinggi. Dan setelah terlebih dahulu memuja lembu itu dengan wangian, dupa, kalungan bunga, dan seumpamanya,

Verse 11

पूर्वोक्तैरेव मन्त्रैस्तु ततस्तां प्रार्थयेत्सुधीः ॥ प्रार्थनापूर्वकं भक्त्या द्विजाग्र्याय निवेदयेत् ॥

Kemudian orang bijaksana itu, dengan mantra-mantra yang telah disebutkan sebelumnya, hendaklah memohon dengan suatu permintaan; dan dengan bhakti yang didahului permohonan, hendaklah ia mempersembahkannya kepada dvija yang utama (Brahmana terkemuka).

Verse 12

दशपूर्वान्परांश्चैव आत्मानं चैकविंशकम् ॥ प्रापयेत्परमं स्थानं स्वर्गान्नावर्त्तते पुनः ॥

Dia membawa sepuluh leluhur dan juga mereka yang datang kemudian, bersama dirinya sebagai yang kedua puluh satu, menuju kediaman tertinggi; setelah mencapai syurga, dia tidak kembali lagi.

Verse 13

एषा ते कथिता राजन् रसधेनुरनुत्तमा ॥ ददस्व च महाराज परं स्थानमवाप्नुहि ॥

Wahai raja, telah diterangkan kepadamu ‘rasadhenu’ yang tiada bandingan. Maka berikanlah ia sebagai dana, wahai maharaja, dan capailah kediaman tertinggi.

Verse 14

य इदं पठते नित्यं शृणुयादथ भक्तितः ॥ सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तो विष्णुलोके महीयते ॥

Sesiapa yang membacanya setiap hari, atau mendengarnya dengan bhakti, akan bebas daripada segala dosa dan dimuliakan di alam Viṣṇu.

Verse 15

दाता च ग्राहकश्चैव एककालमभोजनः ॥ सोमपानफलं तस्य सर्वत्र तु फलं भवेत् ॥

Pemberi dan penerima, dengan berpuasa untuk satu waktu makan (tidak menjamah makanan), memperoleh buah seperti buah meminum Soma; dan manfaatnya dikatakan terhasil dalam segala keadaan.

Inside Adhyaya 101

How it unfolds

  1. Where it opens

    Within the Varāha–Pṛthivī instructional frame, the discourse shifts into a ritual-manual register: a hotṛ addresses a rājan, positioning dāna as a regulated, priest-guided act that stabilizes dharma.

  2. Central event

    Detailed specification of the rasadhenu (ikṣu-rasa ‘cow’) construction: a central pot of sugarcane juice is iconographically transformed into a cow with a proportionate calf, embellished with prescribed substances and metals, and arranged with directional ritual placements (lamps and four sesame vessels).

  3. Climax resolution

    The rite culminates in the formal gifting of the completed rasadhenu to a qualified brāhmaṇa householder (śrotriya-kuṭumbin), with both donor and recipient observing ekakāla (single-meal/fasting discipline), sealing the transfer as a sanctified redistribution rather than mere charity.

  4. Closing phalashruti

    Phalaśruti emphasizes pāpa-śodhana (purification from sin), moral uplift through disciplined generosity, and attainment of elevated post-mortem states; the orderly performance is implicitly tied to sustaining dharmic terrestrial balance (pṛthivī-dhāraṇa).

Geographical context

No explicit toponyms or river systems are mentioned in this excerpt; the setting is a royal-ritual context (rājan) without named locations.

Ritual instructions

  • Primary RitualRasadhenu-dāna (donation of a sugarcane-juice ‘cow’ icon constructed from ritual substances)
  • BenefitPurification from pāpa, reinforcement of disciplined dāna as dharmic self-regulation, and attainment of elevated post-mortem states; the rite models orderly circulation of agricultural wealth as a support of social and terrestrial order.

The narrative frame

  • Hotṛ (ritual officiant), within the broader Varāha–Pṛthivī pedagogical frameRājan (king) as immediate addressee; Pṛthivī as the overarching interlocutor in the text’s frame · Prescriptive, technical, and laudatory (vidhi + stuti), with an authoritative ritual-manual cadence

The emotional journey

  • Dominant RasaŚānta (ritual calm, order, and purification) with a secondary Bhakti/Śraddhā tone
  • Emotional ProgressionFrom didactic instruction → meticulous crafting and consecratory arrangement → solemn transfer to a worthy recipient → reassurance through phalaśruti of purification and higher destiny

Planning a pilgrimage

  • Visit FeasibilityNot tirtha-specific; practice is feasible as a household/temple-adjacent dāna-rite where qualified priestly guidance and a śrotriya recipient are available.

Frequently Asked Questions

The passage frames disciplined giving (dāna) to a qualified recipient as a mechanism for moral self-regulation and social order: the text instructs constructing a ritually specified gift (rasadhenu) and offering it with reverence, presenting donation as a purificatory act (pāpa-vivarjana) that reinforces dharmic conduct.

No tithi, lunar month, nakṣatra, or seasonal marker is specified in the excerpt. The only timing-related observance stated is ekakāla-amabhojana (single-time eating/fasting) for both donor and recipient.

While it does not explicitly discuss ecology, the adhyāya implicitly links terrestrial stability (Pṛthivī’s well-being in the broader Varāha–Pṛthivī frame) to dharmic resource circulation: agricultural products (ikṣu-rasa, ghṛta, tila, phala, puṣpa, gandha) are ritualized and redistributed through regulated gifting, portraying orderly consumption and offering as a form of maintaining social-terrestrial equilibrium.

No genealogies or named historical lineages appear here. The only culturally specific roles invoked are the hotṛ (Vedic ritual priest) as narrator and a rājan (king) as addressee, with the intended recipient defined as a śrotriya kuṭumbin (learned brāhmaṇa householder).

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