Vṛshotsarga
Vṛshotsarga · vṛsha-utsarga, “the setting free of a bull”
Vṛshotsarga means “the releasing of a bull”. It is a rite of the Vedic and Purāṇic tradition in which a bull is consecrated and then set free as an act of merit. It is part of the antya-karma (the rites for the departed), and it is linked with honouring the ancestors, with prāyaścitta (acts that make up for wrongdoing), and with helping the departed reach moksha (liberation). It is also called utsarga (release) of the bull.
Vṛshotsarga is performed to help the departed and to bring prosperity in this world and the next. The Agni Purāṇa gives the release itself: the bull is marked with the cakra and the triśūla and set free with a mantra that praises him as Dharma with four feet. Done at a śrāddha for the dead, it frees the departed one from the preta-loka; done on Kārttika pūrṇimā, it gives Śivaloka and uplifts the whole kula (family line).
Per Matsya Purāṇa
Chapter 206 of the Matsya Purāṇa gives a detailed description of the qualities needed in both the mother cow and the bull to be released, listing auspicious and inauspicious marks and their spiritual effects. In Chapter 203, the pitṛs (ancestors) themselves name vṛshotsarga as one of the acts they most wish to see from their descendants.
Purpose and setting
A gṛhastha (householder) who releases a properly chosen bull, whether raised in his own home or bought, is freed from grief at the time of his own death and in the end reaches mukti (liberation). In the Pitṛgāthā, the songs of the ancestors in Chapter 203, the pitṛs wish that someone in their line will perform vṛshotsarga. They place it beside suvarṇa-dāna, go-dāna and pṛthivī-dāna (the gifts of gold, cows and land) as acts of the highest merit.
An old verse (purātana gāthā) quoted in the text says: “A householder should wish for many sons, for perhaps one of them will go to Gayā, or will arrange the marriage of a young daughter (gaurī-kanyā), or will perform the nīla-vṛshotsarga.”
Examining the mother cow
In Chapter 206, before the bull is chosen, the text calls for a careful examination of his mother. The ideal cow has these qualities:
Temperament and condition: suśīlā (good-natured), guṇavatī (of good qualities), free of physical defects, not thin, with all her calves alive and healthy, free of disease, with a smooth coat.
Horns and hooves: smooth, well proportioned and round.
Form: beautiful, gentle, well proportioned and without aggression.
Whorls of hair: whorls on the right side should turn to the right and whorls on the left side should turn to the left. This correct alignment is auspicious.
Other marks: broad hindquarters; soft, thick red lips; a red neck; a slightly dark coat without wrinkles; a broad, spread-out red tongue; wide, clear eyes with reddish pupils that rise like bubbles of water and are bright and smooth, eyes the colour of the vaiḍūrya gem (cat’s eye) or of honey; hard, solid hooves; seven or fourteen teeth; dark jaws; six raised parts of the flanks and thighs; five equal, long features; and eight long features of the head and neck.
The text explains these terms. The “six raised” (shaḍunnata) are the chest, back, head, belly and haunches; having these raised is auspicious. The “five equal and long” features are the two ears, the two eyes and the forehead. The “eight long” features are the tail, the dewlap under the throat, the two thighs and the four legs, and also the head and neck.
Qualities of the bull
The bull to be released must be born of such a cow, and he too must be examined with care.
Physical marks: a high, straight hump; a straight tail and dewlap; broad hindquarters; eyes like the vaiḍūrya gem; horn tips the colour of coral; long ear tips and a long tail tuft; nine or eighteen sharp, pointed teeth; and eyes the colour of jasmine buds.
Auspicious marks by colour:
- Black (kṛshṇa) with dark tawny (kṛshṇa-piṅgala) eyes: auspicious and fit to be released
- Tawny red (kapila): fit for brāhmaṇas to release
- Deep red (mahārakta): for kshatriyas
- Golden: for vaiśyas
- Black: for śūdras
- Horns curving forward towards the brow: fit for all varṇas (social orders)
Bulls with these marks are called Dhanya (blessed): the colour of a cat’s paw, tawny-red and tawny in colour, white with feet the colour of a cat’s paw, or with eyes like jewels.
Bulls with white at the base of the ears and a shining face are called Nandīmukha.
A bull that is red all over except for a white belly and back is called Samudra. He is excellent for release, though not for keeping at home.
The finest bull of all is described too: a wholly white body with red horn tips, red eyes and coral-coloured hooves. Such a bull is as good for release as he is for keeping at home.
Inauspicious bulls, which must not be released, include: those with black jaws, lips or teeth; those with stiff horns; those of unclear colour; short ones; those that look like a tiger or lion; those with tiger stripes or with markings the colour of a vulture or a rat; very dark ones; those that are wall-eyed or squint-eyed; those that roll their eyes; and those with bulging eyes.
The Nīla Vṛshabha
The Matsya Purāṇa describes a special kind called the Nīla Vṛshabha (nīla can mean blue or dark). This is a bull whose body is mostly red but whose feet, face and tail are white. Such a bull may be released in vṛshotsarga but should not be kept at home. The old verse quoted in the text says that one who performs the nīla-vṛshotsarga brings prosperity to his family line.
Phalaśruti (the fruit of the rite)
The Matsya Purāṇa concludes: “The king who releases a well-marked bull, whether raised at home or bought, has no cause to grieve at the time of his own death. Such a great person also reaches mukti in the end. That is why I have spoken of vṛshotsarga with such emphasis.”
Per Garuḍa Purāṇa
The Garuḍa Purāṇa, in its Dharma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 6, gives the vidhi of vṛshotsarga for the preta (the departed one) on the Yama-mārga, with Vedic mantras, the sacred marks and the meaning of the act.
The meaning of vṛshotsarga
The Garuḍa Purāṇa (Dharma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 6) places vṛshotsarga in the antya-karma. The Yama-mārga is a journey of twelve months and sixteen cities. The preta walks it on foot in its aṅgushṭha-mātra (thumb-sized) body, unless it has been given a vehicle.
The vṛsha (bull) released in the rite becomes that vehicle. The preta mounts the bull and rides through the hard country of the Yama-mārga. It is sheltered from the extreme heat and cold, protected from the torments of the yamadūtas (the messengers of Yama), and moves with dignity rather than being dragged. The bull given in life as a dāna (gift) is the same vehicle that awaits the donor after death.
The bull also carries great meaning. The vṛsha is the vehicle of Mahādeva Śiva (Nandī), so its release places the preta under Bhagavān Śiva’s protection on the road to Yama. The vṛsha is also identified with dharma itself, the vṛsha-dharma, the bull upon which Dharmarāja (Yama) himself stands. A preta mounted on the dharma-bull goes through Yamapura with the protection of dharma.
The animals
The primary release is of a black bull. He is young and unblemished, without marks of ownership, with all four hooves whole and sound. He must not have been used for any farm work or other service.
Alongside the bull, a heifer (a young cow) is also released. She stands for the feminine counterpart and completes the dāna. The pair together, bull and heifer, stand for Śiva and Śakti. Their release consecrates the rite to the cosmic order of which the Yama-mārga is a part.
The marking ceremony
Before release, the bull is marked with sacred symbols using a hot iron (or with vermillion and turmeric in later practice):
- The tridaṇḍa mark on the right side. This is the three staffs of a sannyāsi (renunciant), and it shows the renunciation of the preta’s former life.
- The śaṅkha (conch) and cakra (discus) marks. These are the symbols of Bhagavān Vishṇu, and they place the animal under Bhagavān Vishṇu’s protection.
- The triśūla mark. This is the trident of Mahādeva, and it calls on Bhagavān Śiva as protector of the Yama-mārga.
These marks are applied with mantras. The bull so marked is a sacred animal. It must never be slaughtered, taken back, or used for any purpose after its release. It is to wander freely, fed by the village or by whoever meets it. Harming a released vṛshotsarga bull is one of the gravest pāpas (sins) described in the Dharma Khaṇḍa.
The release mantra
The release is done by the chief mourner (the eldest son or nearest male relative). He holds the bull’s tail and recites:
Tvaṃ dharmasya pratīkaś ca tvaṃ Śivasya priyaḥ sadā / asyā pretasya mārge tvaṃ vāhanaṃ bhava śobhana
The meaning: “You are the symbol of dharma, you are always dear to Śiva. On the road of this preta, be its beautiful vehicle.”
Then the rope is let go and the bull is sent forward. The brāhmaṇas gathered for the rite call out auspicious blessings. If the bull goes off in a good direction, particularly north or east, this is an auspicious sign for the preta’s journey.
The narrative setting
Chapter 6 of the Dharma Khaṇḍa gives the teaching of vṛshotsarga within a long narrative. The king Vīravāhana makes a great tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage), visiting sacred tīrthas across Bhārata. At Pushkara he meets a group of pretas gathered near the tīrtha-kuṇḍa (the sacred pool), weeping and lamenting. Moved with compassion, he asks the brāhmaṇa Viśvambhara about their condition.
Viśvambhara tells of Nārada’s past life. In a former birth Nārada was a tīrtha-purohita (a priest at a tīrtha) who had failed to perform the proper vṛshotsarga and śrāddha for a patron’s family, and so several generations became pretas. The pretas at Pushkara are from that line. The teaching of vṛshotsarga is then given as the remedy. Vīravāhana performs the rite, and the pretas are freed and leave with blessings.
Timing and occasion
These are the occasions for vṛshotsarga:
- On the twelfth day (dvādaśī) after death, at the time of sapiṇḍīkaraṇa
- On the one-year anniversary (abdika) of the death
- At any time when the preta’s distress is found out through a dream or sign
- As part of Nārāyaṇa Bali for those who died without proper saṃskāras
The Dharma Khaṇḍa recommends that the rite be done at a mahā-tīrtha (great tīrtha): the Gaṅgā, Godāvarī, Pushkara, Kāśī or Gayā. This increases the merit of the offering.
Phalaśruti (the fruit of the rite)
The released bull carries the preta safely along the Yama-mārga, and the pretas of Vīravāhana’s account are freed by the rite.
Per Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa
The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa calls the rite Vṛshotsarjana, “releasing a bull”, and gives two chapters to it. As the consecrated bull wanders freely, the pitṛs in the other world receive merit that never runs out.
Choosing the bull (Chapter 146)
The chapter, called Vṛshotsarjana Vṛshabha Lakshaṇa, “the marks of the bull for the bull-release”, lays down the bodily marks (lakshaṇas) of a bull fit to be released. Only a bull with these marks is held auspicious and able to carry the full merit of the rite to the pitṛs.
The rite (Chapter 147)
The chapter, called Vṛshotsarjana Varṇana, “description of the bull-release”, gives the full method:
- Timing: the main occasion is Āśvayuja Amāvāsyā, the new moon of the month of Āśvayuja (Āśvina). The month of Kārttika is also named as an auspicious time.
- Method: the bull is prepared with ceremony, marked with the proper signs and set free with particular mantras, with the intention of benefiting the pitṛs.
- Mantras: the chapter records the mantras recited at the moment of release.
- Phalaśruti: the main benefit goes to the pitṛs. When the bull wanders freely, grazing, resting and drinking, each of these acts creates merit that flows to the ancestors honoured through the rite. The Purāṇa calls it a gift that gives the pitṛs never-ending nourishment in their realm.
Per Agni Purāṇa
The Agni Purāṇa speaks of vṛshotsarga in three places: among the vratas of the pūrṇimā and amāvāsyā days (Chapter 194), among the great dānas, where it gives the release mantra (Chapter 211), and in the list of dānas and their fruits (Chapter 213).
The release and its mantra (Chapter 211)
Among the dānas that give akshaya (undecaying) fruit, the Agni Purāṇa names vṛshotsarga. The bull is marked with the seals (mudrās) of the cakra and the triśūla, and he is released while the giver recites:
“Deveśvara! You are Dharma-devatā himself, with four feet. These four are your beloved ones. O vṛshabha, Vedamūrti (the Veda in bodily form), who nourish the pitṛs, men and ṛshis! By releasing you, may I gain the undecaying, amṛta-filled eternal worlds. May I be freed from the debts (ṛṇa) to the devas, the bhūtas and the pitṛs. You are Dharma himself. May the gati (the state reached after death) of those who take refuge in you be mine.”
At the śrāddha of the departed (Chapter 211)
If vṛshotsarga is done at one of the śrāddhas of the dead, the ekādaśa (the rite on the eleventh day), the shāṇmāsika (the six-monthly rite) or the vārshika (the yearly rite), the departed one is freed from the preta-loka, the world of the pretas.
On Kārttika pūrṇimā (Chapters 194 and 213)
The Agni Purāṇa also gives a vṛshotsarga vrata. On Kārttika pūrṇimā, the full moon of the month of Kārttika, one performs vṛshotsarga and keeps the vrata through the night. The phala is Śivaloka, the world of Bhagavān Śiva. In its list of dānas the Purāṇa says again that one who performs vṛshotsarga on Kārttika pūrṇimā and such holy days uplifts his whole kula.
Sources: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 194, 211, 213
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 194, 211, 213
- Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 203 (the Pitṛgāthā)
- Matsya Purāṇa, Chapter 206
- Garuḍa Purāṇa, Dharma Khaṇḍa (Dharma Khaṇḍa Ch. 6)
- Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 146–147