Varaha Purana 112.73: Adhyaya 112, Shloka 73
Praise and Procedure of Donating the Two-Faced Kapilā Cow and the Golden Pot
Hema-kumbha
प्रत्यक्षधेनुर्दातव्या सहिरण्या नृपोत्तम ॥ सर्वदा सर्वधेनूनां प्रदानं राजसत्तम ॥
pratyakṣadhenur dātavyā sahiraṇyā nṛpottama || sarvadā sarvadhenūnāṃ pradānaṃ rājasattama ||
Ó melhor dos reis, deve-se dar uma vaca viva, juntamente com ouro. Ó mais virtuoso dos reis, louva-se como prática constante a doação de todos os tipos de vacas.
Varāha (default dialogue framework)
Varaha Avatara Context: {"is_varaha_focus":true,"earth_interaction":"Instructional address within the Varāha–Bhū dialogue frame; Varāha teaches dharmic gifting rather than enacting physical rescue."}
Bhu Devi Dialogue: {"is_dialogue":true,"speaker_role":"instructor"}
Mathura Mandala: {"is_mathura_related":false}
Dharma Shastra: {"has_dharma_rule":true,"topic":"dana","instruction_summary":"A king should give a living cow (not merely symbolic), together with gold; continual gifting of various cows is praised.","karmic_consequence":"Merit, prosperity, and purification accrue to the donor; neglect implies loss of dharmic merit and royal auspiciousness."}
Vrata Mahatmya: {"has_vrata":false}
Cosmic Boar Symbolism: {"has_symbolism":false}
Philosophical Teaching: {"has_teaching":true,"teaching_type":"dharma-ethics (dāna as sustaining social-cosmic order)","core_concept":"Material generosity—especially go-dāna—functions as a stabilizer of dharma and a purifier of the giver.","practical_application":"Prioritize living, welfare-supporting gifts (cow with upkeep/means), and make charity habitual rather than occasional."}
Subject Matter: ["Ethics","Ritual Economy","Material Culture"]
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: vīra
Related Themes: Varāha Purāṇa 112 (dāna/ritual economy section; concluding injunctions around go-dāna)
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Varāha as divine teacher addressing a crowned king, indicating a living cow and a heap of gold as the proper gift.","item_prompts":["Varāha with teaching gesture (vyākhyāna-mudrā)","attentive king with crown and folded hands","living cow (kapilā or generic)","gold coins/ingots","palm-leaf manuscript or ritual ledger"],"kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: seated Varāha-teacher with ornate jewelry, warm ochres/greens; king in añjali; cow beside, gold rendered as flat yellow with red outlines.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style: central Varāha with prabhāmaṇḍala, heavy gold-leaf ornamentation; cow and gold offerings foreground; king smaller at side in devotion.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style: refined linework, soft shading; Varāha instructing, king receiving; detailed textiles, realistic cow, subtle gold highlights.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari style: intimate courtly setting; Varāha as divine sage-like figure; bright flat colors, stylized cow, gold as patterned motifs."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic, auspicious","suggested_raga":"Madhyamāvati","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"clear, authoritative, benedictive"}
FAQs
It documents a normative ideal of charitable giving in which livestock and precious metals function as high-status donations, reflecting agrarian and courtly economies.
No geographic site is named; the verse concerns prescriptive dāna practice rather than pilgrimage geography.
To give tangible, living gifts (not merely symbolic substitutes), and to treat charitable giving as a sustained ethical discipline.
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.