Guḍa-dhenu
Guḍa-dhenu · guḍa-dhenu, “the cow of guḍa”
Grammar: feminine noun; guḍa (molasses) and dhenu (cow).
Meaning: a cow fashioned of guḍa, with a calf, given as dāna.
In the scriptures: in the Viśoka Dvādaśī the vratī gives, at the close, a full śayyā together with a guḍa-dhenu. Yudhishṭhira then asks its rule, and Śrī Kṛshṇa tells it and says its gift destroys all pāpas (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 84). In the Umāvrata, on the śukla tṛtīyā of Māgha or Caitra, a brāhmaṇa is given a guḍa-dhenu with all its accessories, and the doer lives in Gaurīloka (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 121). The ratna-dhenu is invited as in the guḍa-dhenu rite (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 157).
The rite
On the day of the gift the ground is smeared with cow dung and kuśa is spread on all sides. On it is placed a black deerskin four hastas long, with its front to the east, and beside it a smaller deerskin for the calf. The cow is conceived with her face to the east and her feet to the north. A guḍa-dhenu of four bhāras of guḍa, with a calf of one bhāra, is held the best; it is made according to the means of the household. Cow and calf are covered with a fine white cloth.
The limbs
- Mouth: ghee
- Ears: shell
- Feet: sugarcane
- Eyes: white pearl
- Veins: white thread
- Dewlap: white blanket
- Back: a mark of red colour
- Hair of the body: white hairs of the deer’s tail
- Brows: coral
- Two udders: butter
- Tail: silk thread
- Milking vessel: bronze
- Pupils of the eyes: indranīla maṇi
- Ornaments of the horns: gold
- Hooves: silver
- Nostrils: fruits of many kinds
The prayer
After arcana with dhūpa, dīpa and the like, the vratī prays that Devī Lakshmī, who dwells in all beings and in the devatās, may in the form of a dhenu destroy his pāpas. He prays that she who is on the chest of Bhagavān Vishṇu, who as Svāhā is the wife of Agni, and who is the śakti of Candra, Sūrya and Indra, may give him wealth. He prays that she who is the Lakshmī of Brahmā, of Kubera and of the Lokapālas may give him varas. He prays that she who is Svadhā for the chief pitṛs and Svāhā for the Agnis may give him aiśvarya (prosperity). Then he gives the guḍa-dhenu to a brāhmaṇa. The same rule holds for all the dhenus, ghee, sesame and the rest.
The ten dhenus
Śrī Kṛshṇa names ten cows that destroy pāpa: the dhenus of guḍa, ghṛta, tila, madhu, jala, kshīra, śarkarā, dadhi and rasa, and the pratyaksha dhenu, the cow in her own living form. They should be given at every parva according to one’s śraddhā, with mantra and āvāhana. They give bhoga and moksha, the fruit of all yajñas and welfare, and they take away pāpa. Because the Viśoka Dvādaśī is held the best of vratas, the guḍa-dhenu, as its limb, is held excellent. The times for giving are the days of Uttarāyaṇa and Dakshiṇāyana, the Vishuva yoga, the Vyatīpāta yoga, the eclipses of Sūrya and Candra and such parvas.
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 84, 121, 157