Shloka 26

Prahlada's Instructions to Bali — Prahlada’s Instructions to Bali on Vishnu Worship, Monthly Gifts, and Building Hari’s Temple

Devanagari script

गन्धमाल्यानि देयानि वैशाखे सुरभीणि वै देयानि द्विजमुख्येभ्यो मधुसूदनतुष्टये

Transliteration

gandhamālyāni deyāni vaiśākhe surabhīṇi vai deyāni dvijamukhyebhyo madhusūdanatuṣṭaye

Translation

वैशाखे सुरभीणि गन्धमाल्यानि देयानि; मधुसूदनतुष्टये द्विजमुख्येभ्यो दातव्यानि।

Speakers

• Unspecified narrator/teacher voice continuing the month-wise dāna list

Primary Deities

• Vishnu (Madhusudana)

Key Themes

• Dāna (charity)
• Devotional offering through sensory purity (fragrance/garlands)
• Māsa-anusāra observance
• Honoring learned/virtuous recipients

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why are perfumes and garlands emphasized for Vaiśākha?

Vaiśākha’s heat and dryness make ‘cooling’ and pleasing sensory offerings culturally salient. Gandha and mālya represent refinement, purity, and honor; donating them transfers that honor to worthy recipients while dedicating the merit to Madhusūdana.

Who are ‘dvijamukhyas’ in practical terms?

In Purāṇic-dharma usage, it denotes exemplary ‘twice-born’ persons—especially learned, disciplined brāhmaṇas—considered fit vessels for dāna because the gift is believed to yield amplified merit when placed with the virtuous.

Is Madhusūdana here a specific avatāra reference?

It is an epithet of Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa highlighting his mythic victory over the demon Madhu. In this verse it functions as a devotional name rather than pointing to a distinct avatāra episode.