Ghṛta-dhenu
Ghṛta-dhenu · ghṛta-dhenu, “the cow of ghee”
Grammar: feminine noun; ghṛta (ghee) and dhenu (cow).
Meaning: a cow fashioned of kalaśas of ghee, with a calf, given as dāna.
In the scriptures: In the Viśoka Dvādaśī, Śrī Kṛshṇa names to Yudhishṭhira the ten dhenus that destroy pāpa: the guḍa-dhenu, the ghṛta-dhenu second, then the dhenus of tila, madhu, jala, kshīra, śarkarā, dadhi and rasa, and the living cow. They are given at every parva, with mantra and āvāhana, and give bhoga and moksha (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 84). At the close of the Madana Dvādaśī, in the thirteenth month, the vratī gives a brāhmaṇa a furnished śayyā with a ghṛta-dhenu, a golden image of Kāmadeva and a white milking cow (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 86). On the Kārttika pūrṇimā one gives elephants, horses, chariots and the ten dhenus beginning with the ghṛta-dhenu (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 100).
The rite
Śrī Kṛshṇa tells Yudhishṭhira how the ghṛta-dhenu is made and given. Kalaśas filled with cow’s ghee are set in the shape of a cow, adorned with gandha and flowers, and covered with white cloth, and a bronze milking vessel is placed at the milking place. Her limbs are:
- Feet: rods of sugarcane
- Hooves: silver
- Eyes: gold
- Horns: agaru wood
- Flanks: the seven grains (saptadhānya)
- Dewlap: woollen cloth
- Nose: camphor of the Turushka country
- Udders: fruits
- Tongue: sugar
- Mouth: jaggery mixed with milk
- Tail: silk cloth
- Hairs: white mustard
- Back: a copper vessel
A calf is imagined beside her. The pratishṭhā of the ghṛta-dhenu is done by the rite, she is worshipped, and this mantra is said:
आज्यं तेजः समुद्दिष्टमाज्यं पापहरं परम् ।
आज्यं सुराणामाहारः सर्वमाज्ये प्रतिष्ठितम् ॥
त्वं चैवाज्यमयी देवि कल्पितासि मया किल ।
सर्वपापापनोदाय सुखाय भव भामिनि ॥ājyaṃ tejaḥ samuddishṭamājyaṃ pāpaharaṃ param |
ājyaṃ surāṇāmāhāraḥ sarvamājye pratishṭhitam ||
tvaṃ caivājyamayī devi kalpitāsi mayā kila |
sarvapāpāpanodāya sukhāya bhava bhāmini ||Ghee is declared to be tejas; ghee takes away pāpa; ghee is the food of the devas; everything is established in ghee. O Devī made of ghee, you are fashioned so by me: destroy all my pāpas and give me joy.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 154
The ghṛta-dhenu is then given to a brāhmaṇa with dakshiṇā, with the words: “Accept this dhenu made of ājya, to do me good.” That day the giver takes only ghee as food. The navanīta-dhenu, the cow of butter, is given by the same rite.
The phala
The giver of the ghṛta-dhenu dwells in the loka where rivers of ghee and milk flow, and uplifts seven generations of his people. These are the fruits for one who gives with desire; one who gives without desire becomes stainless and reaches the parama pada. Ghee is full of all the devas, so by the gift of ghee all the devas are pleased (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 154).
Related terms: Ghṛta · Guḍa-dhenu · Dhenu · Dāna
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 84, 86, 100, 154