Matsya Purana — Rites for Consecrating and Celebrating Trees, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ततः शुक्लाम्बरधरां सौवर्णकृतभूषणाम् सकांस्यदोहां सौवर्णशृङ्गाभ्याम् अतिशालिनीम् पयस्विनीं वृक्षमध्याद् उत्सृजेद्गामुदङ्मुखीम् //

Transliteration

tataḥ śuklāmbaradharāṃ sauvarṇakṛtabhūṣaṇām sakāṃsyadohāṃ sauvarṇaśṛṅgābhyām atiśālinīm payasvinīṃ vṛkṣamadhyād utsṛjedgāmudaṅmukhīm //

Translation

随后，应从树木之间的空隙处放出一头产乳之牛——丰盛健壮——披白衣，饰以金饰，备有青铜挤奶器皿，双角包覆黄金，并令其面向北方。

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereafter

• śukla-ambara-dharām: wearing white cloth

• sauvarṇa-kṛta-bhūṣaṇām: adorned with ornaments made of gold

• sa-kāṃsya-dohām: together with a bronze (kāṃsya) milking-vessel/pail

• sauvarṇa-śṛṅgābhyām: having (both) horns gilded/covered with gold

• ati-śālinīm: very thriving/prosperous, well-conditioned

• payasvinīm: milk-giving, lactating

• vṛkṣa-madhyāt: from between/in the midst of trees

• utsṛjet: one should release/let go (ritually set free)

• gām: the cow

• udaṅ-mukhīm: facing north.

Speaker

• Lord Matsya (teaching Vaivasvata Manu)

Entities Mentioned

• Lord Matsya
• Vaivasvata Manu
• Gau (Cow)

Tags

• Dāna
• Gau-dāna
• Ritual procedure
• Auspicious directions
• Puranic dharma

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the creation or dissolution (Pralaya)?

This verse does not describe Pralaya; it gives a dharmic ritual instruction for gau-dāna, focusing on auspicious preparation, placement, and north-facing orientation.

How does this verse relate to the duties of a King or Householder?

It prescribes an ideal, merit-producing form of charity: offering a healthy, milk-yielding cow properly honored with cloth and gold, reflecting the householder/kingly duty to uphold dharma through regulated gifts (dāna).

What is the architectural or ritual significance mentioned here?

Ritually, the cow is released from a defined sacred space (between trees) and oriented north (udaṅmukhī), highlighting directional auspiciousness and prescribed staging of the donation rite.