Govatsa Dvādaśī
Govatsa Dvādaśī, simply known as Govatsa Dvadashi, Sanskrit: गोवत्स द्वादशी, Telugu: గోవత్స ద్వాదశి, Hindi: गोवत्स द्वादशी.
Govatsa Dvādaśī is the vrata of Kārtika Śukla Dvādaśī, the twelfth day of the bright fortnight of Kārtika. On this day a cow with her calf is worshipped as a form of Pārvatī and Śiva. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa teaches it to Yudhishṭhira in the Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 69. The vrata began with an episode at the āśrama of Bhṛgu Maharshi, and the protection of Dhruva is its main kathā (story).
The origin of the vrata: Bhṛgu’s āśrama
In the Kṛtayuga, on a beautiful mountain called Nāmavrata, on a peak called Ṭantāvī, countless munis performed tapas in sacred forest clearings. The āśrama of Bhṛgu Maharshi presided over this whole region. All the animals, from monkeys to lions, roamed there without fear.
One day Bhagavān Śiva came to the āśrama in the form of an aged brāhmaṇa. With him came Pārvatī, in the form of a beautiful divine cow with her calf. Bhagavān Śiva asked Bhṛgu Maharshi to watch over the cow while he went to Jambukshetra, and he promised to return in two days. All the munis solemnly vowed to protect the cow with their lives.
Bhagavān Śiva left. After a short time he came back in the form of a large tiger. He began to frighten the cow and her calf, chasing and threatening them. The munis ran to protect the cow, shouting and trying to drive the tiger away. They could not bring themselves to give up the cow they had vowed to protect. At last they could not bear the cow’s distress any longer. They sounded the fearsome bell that Brahmā had given them, whose sound is fatal to any animal. The tiger fled.
In the very next moment Bhagavān Śiva appeared on Nandī, surrounded by his divine attendants. The cow vanished, and Pārvatī appeared at Śiva’s left side. The munis understood that the whole episode had been a divine test of their steadfastness in the vrata (vrata-nishṭhā). Bhagavān Śiva declared: “This day, Kārtika Śukla Dvādaśī, is sacred. The munis named one of the worthy cows Nandinī Dhenu and worshipped her as a form of Pārvatī. From that day, Govatsa Dvādaśī became known across the earth.”
The greatness of the cow
Before describing the vrata, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa teaches Yudhishṭhira at length about the greatness of the cow. The cow is not an ordinary creature. When the ocean of milk (Kshīrasāgara) was churned, five great divine cows arose along with the amṛta:
- Nandā
- Sunandā (also called Subhadrā in some lists)
- Surabhi
- Suśīlā
- Bahuḷā (also called Sumanā)
These five are worshipped as the loka-mātṛs, the mothers of the worlds. The devas and asuras gave them to the ṛshis Jamadagni, Bharadvāja, Vasishṭha, Asita and Gautama, in that order. The cow’s six products are all supremely sacred: gomaya (dung), gorocana (bile-stone), gomūtra (urine), dugdha (milk), dadhi (curd) and ghṛta (clarified butter).
The Bhavishya Purāṇa further says that all thirty-three crore devas live in the body of the cow:
- at the roots of the horns: Brahmā and Vishṇu
- at the tips of the horns: all the tīrthas
- in the middle, the back: Bhagavān Śiva Mahādeva
- on the forehead: Gaurī
- in the nostrils: Shaṇmukha
- in the ears: the Aśvinīs; in the eyes: Candra and Sūrya
- in the teeth: the Vasus; on the tongue: Varuṇa; in the throat: Sarasvatī
- in the four legs: the fourfold Dharma
- in the urine: Gaṅgā; in the dung: Yamunā
- in the pores of the hair: the thirty-three crore devas
The four Vedas are present in all her limbs.
Sunitī and Dhruva
King Uttānapāda had two wives, Suruci and Sunitī. Sunitī kept the Govatsa Dvādaśī vrata. She received the great vara (boon) that her son Dhruva could not die for good as long as she lived and called his name.
Suruci was filled with jealousy of her co-wife (sāpatnya-dvesha) and again and again harmed the infant Dhruva. But each time Sunitī called his name in her heart, Dhruva came back to life and sat happily in Suruci’s own lap. Suruci was bewildered. At last she asked Sunitī what was happening, and Sunitī told her the power of the Govatsa vrata. Suruci then took up the vrata herself and received a son, wealth and happiness.
Brahmā gave both women a place in the nakshatra-maṇḍala (the circle of the stars). The Dhruva-maṇḍala, the pole-star constellation, which can be seen even today, arose from these events.
“Whoever looks upon the Dhruva-maṇḍala, the constellation of ten stars, has all their pāpa (sin) destroyed.”
The vidhi
On Kārtika Śukla Dvādaśī:
- Bathe at a sacred water with the proper saṅkalpa (vow).
- Eat only once that day.
- In the afternoon, worship a cow of excellent marks together with her calf. Honour her with gandha (sandal paste), pushpa (flowers), akshata (unbroken rice), kuṅkuma, alakta (red lac), a lamp, large flowers and garlands.
- Offer her feed (grāsa) and touch her while saying this mantra:
Oṃ māta rudrāṇāṃ duhitā vasūnāṃ svasā ādityānāmṛtasya nābhiḥ |
pra nu vocaṃ cikitushe janāya mā gāmanāgāmāditiṃ vadhishṭha ||
This is Ṛgveda 8.101.15.
- Then pray:
Oṃ sarvadevaṃaye devī lokānāṃ śubhanandini |
mātar mamābhilashitaṃ saphalaṃ kuru nandini ||
- Sprinkle water on the cow with devotion and bow down to her.
- That night, do not eat food that has been heated on fire. Keep brahmacarya and sleep on the ground.
The phala
One who keeps the Govatsa Dvādaśī vrata properly enjoys every comfort through life. At the end of life he reaches Goloka and lives there for as many years as there are hairs on a cow’s body. Goloka is the realm of Rādhā-Kṛshṇa, above all other lokas.
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 69