Death at Prayaga and the Gift of the Cow

Verse 1 (padma.3.42.1)

मार्कंडेय उवाच । शृणु राजन्प्रयागस्य माहात्म्यं पुनरेव तु । यं गत्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मुच्यते नात्र संशयः ।

mārkaṁḍeya uvāca śṛṇu rājanprayāgasya māhātmyaṁ punareva tu yaṁ gatvā sarvapāpebhyo mucyate nātra saṁśayaḥ

Markandeya said: Listen, O king, once more to the greatness of Prayaga; going there, one is freed from all sins — of this there is no doubt.

Verse 2 (padma.3.42.2)

आर्तानां च दरिद्राणां निश्चितव्यवसायिनाम् । स्थानं मुक्त्वा प्रयागं तु नाक्षयं तु कदाचन ।

ārtānāṁ ca daridrāṇāṁ niścitavyavasāyinām sthānaṁ muktvā prayāgaṁ tu nākṣayaṁ tu kadācana

For the afflicted and the poor, and for those of firm resolve — apart from the place of Prayaga, nothing they gain elsewhere is ever imperishable.

Verse 3 (padma.3.42.3)

गंगायमुनमासाद्य यस्तु प्राणान्परित्यजेत् । दीप्तकांचनवर्णाभे विमाने सूर्यवर्चसि ।

gaṁgāyamunamāsādya yastu prāṇānparityajet dīptakāṁcanavarṇābhe vimāne sūryavarcasi

Whoever, having reached the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna, gives up his life — in a chariot blazing golden in hue, radiant as the sun —

Verse 4 (padma.3.42.4)

गंधर्वाप्सरसां मध्ये स्वर्गे मोदति मानवः । ईप्सिताँल्लभतेकामान्वदंति ऋषिपुंगवाः ।

gaṁdharvāpsarasāṁ madhye svarge modati mānavaḥ īpsitā~llabhatekāmānvadaṁti ṛṣipuṁgavāḥ

that man rejoices in heaven amid Gandharvas and Apsaras. He obtains his desired wishes — so declare the foremost of sages.

Verse 5 (padma.3.42.5)

सर्वरत्नमयैर्दिव्यैर्नानाध्वजसमाकुलैः । वरांगना समाकीर्णैर्मोदते शुभलक्षणैः ।

sarvaratnamayairdivyairnānādhvajasamākulaiḥ varāṁganā samākīrṇairmodate śubhalakṣaṇaiḥ

He rejoices amid divine mansions made wholly of jewels, thronged with many banners, filled with beautiful women of auspicious marks,

Verse 6 (padma.3.42.6)

गीतवादित्रनिर्घोषैः प्रसुप्तः प्रतिबुध्यते । यावन्न स्मरते जन्म तावत्स्वर्गे महीयते ।

gītavāditranirghoṣaiḥ prasuptaḥ pratibudhyate yāvanna smarate janma tāvatsvarge mahīyate

awakening from sleep to the sounds of song and music. As long as he does not remember his former birth, he is glorified in heaven.

Verse 7 (padma.3.42.7)

तत्र स्वर्गात्परिभ्रष्टः क्षीणकर्म्मा दिवश्च्युतः । हिरण्यरत्नसंपूर्णे समृद्धे जायते कुले ।

tatra svargātparibhraṣṭaḥ kṣīṇakarmmā divaścyutaḥ hiraṇyaratnasaṁpūrṇe samṛddhe jāyate kule

When, having fallen from heaven there, his accumulated merit exhausted, fallen from the sky, he is born again in a prosperous family full of gold and jewels.

Verse 8 (padma.3.42.8)

तदेव स्मरते तीर्थं स्मरणात्तत्र गच्छति । देशस्थो यदि वारण्ये विदेशे यदि वा गृहे ।

tadeva smarate tīrthaṁ smaraṇāttatra gacchati deśastho yadi vāraṇye videśe yadi vā gṛhe

He remembers that very tirtha, and by that remembrance he goes there — whether he dwells in his own land, or in a forest, or abroad, or at home.

Verse 9 (padma.3.42.9)

प्रयागं स्मरमात्रोपि यस्तु प्राणान्परित्यजेत् । स ब्रह्मलोकमाप्नोति वदंति ऋषिपुंगवाः ।

prayāgaṁ smaramātropi yastu prāṇānparityajet sa brahmalokamāpnoti vadaṁti ṛṣipuṁgavāḥ

Whoever gives up his life merely remembering Prayaga attains the world of Brahma — so declare the foremost of sages.

Verse 10 (padma.3.42.10)

सर्वकामफलावृत्ता मही यत्र हिरण्मयी । ऋषयो मुनयः सिद्धा यत्र लोके प्रगच्छति ।

sarvakāmaphalāvṛttā mahī yatra hiraṇmayī ṛṣayo munayaḥ siddhā yatra loke pragacchati

Where the golden earth grants the fruit of every desire, where sages, munis, and Siddhas go in that world —

Verse 11 (padma.3.42.11)

स्त्रीसहस्रा कुले रम्ये मंदाकिन्यास्तटे शुभे । मोदते ऋषिभिः सार्द्धं स्वकृतेनेह कर्मणा ।

strīsahasrā kule ramye maṁdākinyāstaṭe śubhe modate ṛṣibhiḥ sārddhaṁ svakṛteneha karmaṇā

there, in a delightful family with thousands of women, on the auspicious bank of the Mandakini, he rejoices together with the sages, through the deed he performed here.

Verse 12 (padma.3.42.12)

सिद्धचारणगन्धर्वैः पूज्यते दिवि दैवतैः । ततः स्वर्गात्परिभ्रष्टो जंबुद्वीपपतिर्भवेत् ।

siddhacāraṇagandharvaiḥ pūjyate divi daivataiḥ tataḥ svargātparibhraṣṭo jaṁbudvīpapatirbhavet

He is honored in heaven by Siddhas, Charanas, Gandharvas, and by the gods; then, fallen from heaven, he becomes a lord of Jambudvipa.

Verse 13 (padma.3.42.13)

ततः शुभानि कर्माणि चिंतयानः पुनः पुनः । गुणवान्वित्तसंपन्नो भवतीह न संशयः ।

tataḥ śubhāni karmāṇi ciṁtayānaḥ punaḥ punaḥ guṇavānvittasaṁpanno bhavatīha na saṁśayaḥ

Then, thinking again and again upon auspicious deeds, he becomes virtuous and possessed of wealth in this world — of this there is no doubt.

Verse 14 (padma.3.42.14)

कर्मणा मनसा वाचा सत्यधर्मप्रतिष्ठितः । गंगायमुनयोर्मध्ये यस्तु दानं प्रयच्छति ।

karmaṇā manasā vācā satyadharmapratiṣṭhitaḥ gaṁgāyamunayormadhye yastu dānaṁ prayacchati

Whoever, established in truth and dharma in deed, mind, and speech, gives a gift between the Ganga and the Yamuna —

Verse 15 (padma.3.42.15)

सुवर्णंमणिमुक्तां वा यदि धान्यं प्रतिग्रहम् । स्वकार्ये पितृकार्ये वा देवताभ्यर्चनेऽपि वा ।

suvarṇaṁmaṇimuktāṁ vā yadi dhānyaṁ pratigraham svakārye pitṛkārye vā devatābhyarcane'pi vā

whether gold, jewels, pearls, or grain given as a gift — whether for his own purposes, or for the rites of the ancestors, or even for the worship of the gods —

Verse 16 (padma.3.42.16)

निष्फलं तस्य तत्तीर्थं यावत्तत्फलमश्नुते । एवं तीर्थेन गृह्णीयात् पुण्येष्वायतनेषु च ।

niṣphalaṁ tasya tattīrthaṁ yāvattatphalamaśnute evaṁ tīrthena gṛhṇīyāt puṇyeṣvāyataneṣu ca

that tirtha bears no fruit for him until he actually enjoys the fruit of what he has given. Thus one should undertake gifts through a tirtha, and in sacred shrines,

Verse 17 (padma.3.42.17)

निमित्तेषु च सर्वेषु अप्रमत्तो द्विजो भवेत् । कपिलां पाटलावर्णां प्रयागे यः प्रयच्छति ।

nimitteṣu ca sarveṣu apramatto dvijo bhavet kapilāṁ pāṭalāvarṇāṁ prayāge yaḥ prayacchati

and on every proper occasion, a twice-born should remain vigilant. Whoever gives, at Prayaga, a tawny cow of reddish hue —

Verse 18 (padma.3.42.18)

स्वर्णशृंगीं रौप्यखुरां चैलकंठीं पयस्विनीम् । प्रयागे श्रोत्रियं साधुं ग्राहयित्वा यथाविधि ।

svarṇaśṛṁgīṁ raupyakhurāṁ cailakaṁṭhīṁ payasvinīm prayāge śrotriyaṁ sādhuṁ grāhayitvā yathāvidhi

with golden horns, silver hooves, cloth around her neck, and full of milk, having had it duly received by a virtuous Brahmin learned in the Vedas at Prayaga —

Verse 19 (padma.3.42.19)

शुक्लांबरधरं शांतं धर्मज्ञं वेदपारगम् । सा गौस्तस्मै च दातव्या गंगायमुनसंगमे ।

śuklāṁbaradharaṁ śāṁtaṁ dharmajñaṁ vedapāragam sā gaustasmai ca dātavyā gaṁgāyamunasaṁgame

one clad in white garments, tranquil, a knower of dharma, versed in the whole Veda — that cow should be given to him at the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna.

Verse 20 (padma.3.42.20)

वासांसि च महार्हाणि रत्नानि विविधानि च । यावद्रोमाणि तस्या गोः संति गात्रेषु सत्तम ।

vāsāṁsi ca mahārhāṇi ratnāni vividhāni ca yāvadromāṇi tasyā goḥ saṁti gātreṣu sattama

along with costly garments and various jewels. O best of men, as many hairs as there are upon that cow's body —

Verse 21 (padma.3.42.21)

तावद्वर्षसहस्राणि स्वर्गलोके महीयते । यत्रासौ लभते जन्म सा गौस्तत्राभिजायते ।

tāvadvarṣasahasrāṇi svargaloke mahīyate yatrāsau labhate janma sā gaustatrābhijāyate

for that many thousands of years he is glorified in Svargaloka. And wherever he is next born, that cow is born there together with him.

Verse 22 (padma.3.42.22)

न च पश्यत्यसौ घोरं नरकं तेन कर्मणा । उत्तरान्स कुरून्प्राप्य मोदते कालमक्षयम् ।

na ca paśyatyasau ghoraṁ narakaṁ tena karmaṇā uttarānsa kurūnprāpya modate kālamakṣayam

And by that deed he does not behold the terrible hell; reaching the land of the Northern Kurus, he rejoices for an imperishable span of time.

Verse 23 (padma.3.42.23)

गवां शतसहस्रेभ्यो दद्यादेकां पयस्विनीम् । पुत्रान्दारान्तथा भृत्यान्गौरेका प्रतितारयेत् ।

gavāṁ śatasahasrebhyo dadyādekāṁ payasvinīm putrāndārāntathā bhṛtyāngaurekā pratitārayet

Rather than a hundred thousand ordinary cows, one should give a single milk-yielding cow; a single cow can carry across one's sons, wife, and servants as well.

Verse 24 (padma.3.42.24)

तस्मात्सर्वेषु दानेषु गोदानं तु विशिष्यते । दुर्गमे विषमे घोरे महापातकसंभवे । गौरेव रक्षां कुरुते तस्माद्देया द्विजातये ।

tasmātsarveṣu dāneṣu godānaṁ tu viśiṣyate durgame viṣame ghore mahāpātakasaṁbhave gaureva rakṣāṁ kurute tasmāddeyā dvijātaye

Therefore, among all gifts, the gift of a cow is especially distinguished. In a difficult, perilous, terrible place born of great sin, the cow alone gives protection; therefore she should be given to a twice-born.