With devotion and joy, the night was kept awake with singing and the sweet sounds of musical instruments. As dawn broke, everyone bathed, and then, with reverence, worshipped the divine married couple. The day unfolded in simplicity and contentment—eating according to one’s means, free from all miserliness. After the meal, the assembled devotees listened to recitations from the Purāṇas, letting the sacred stories fill their minds as they passed the day in peace. This sacred observance was to be performed every month in this manner. At the completion of the vow, a special offering was made: a bed, along with jaggery and a cow, complete with bedding, a pillow, and a beautiful covering, was to be given away as charity. In prayer, the devotee would beseech, “O Lord of the gods, may Lakṣmī never leave you; may I always possess beauty, health, and be free from sorrow. Just as fortune never arises anywhere without the presence of the Divine, so may my devotion to Keśava be supreme and untouched by sorrow.” With this mantra of longing for prosperity, the devotee would give a bed, accompanied by a sweet cow and a winnowing basket, all offered together with Lakṣmī’s blessings. For the worship, only the most auspicious flowers and items were chosen: lotus, oleander, arrow, unfaded saffron, ketakī, sinduvāra, jasmine, fragrant pāṭalā, kadamba, kubjaka, and jāti—all considered ever-auspicious. At this point, a question arose: “O Lord of the world, explain to me the procedure for the sweet cow—what form should it take, and with what mantra should it be offered?” The Lord replied, “I shall declare the form and result of the sweet cow offering, which destroys all sins. First, place a four-handed black antelope skin facing east on the ground, after smearing it with cow dung and spreading darbha grass all around. For the calf, prepare a small antelope skin in the same way. Arrange the cow facing east, with water at her feet, and her calf beside her. The best sweet cow should always have four units of weight, and the calf one unit; a medium offering uses two units, and the calf half a unit; the smallest is a quarter unit for the calf. The portion for the calf should be according to the household’s wealth. Both cow and calf should have mouths of clarified butter, be draped in fine white garments, with shells for ears and sugarcane for feet, and eyes fashioned from pure pearls. Their hair is made of white thread, their covering a white blanket, their cheeks and backs of copper, and they are adorned with white yak-tail hair. Their eyebrows are coral, their udders butter, their tails linen, their milking vessels bronze, and their pupils sapphire. Golden ornaments grace their horns, silver their hooves, and they are festooned with various fruits and fragrant containers for noses. Thus prepared, they are worshipped with incense and lamps. Prayers are then offered: ‘May the goddess who is Lakṣmī among all beings, and who dwells among the gods in the form of a cow, grant me peace. May the goddess who is Rudrāṇī, ever beloved of Śaṃkara and residing in the body as a cow, remove my sin. May the Lakṣmī on Viṣṇu’s chest, the Svāhā of fire, the power of moon, sun, and Indra, all in the form of a cow, bring me prosperity. May the Lakṣmī of Brahmā, the Lakṣmī of the Lord of Wealth, and the Lakṣmī of the guardians of the worlds, in the form of a cow, grant me boons. May the cow, who is Svadhā for the ancestors, Svāhā for the recipients of sacrifice, and remover of all sins, grant me peace.’ After these invocations, the cow is presented to a worthy Brahmin, as prescribed in all such offerings. There are ten such cows said to destroy sin. Their forms and names are: the jaggery-cow, the ghee-cow, the sesame-cow, the water-cow, the milk-cow, the honey-cow, the sugar-cow, the curd-cow, the juice-cow, and the tenth, which is so by its own nature. For the liquid cows, pots are used; for the others, heaps of their respective substances. Some, O descendants of Bhanu, also desire the golden cow. Great sages sometimes use fresh butter and gems—these are the proper implements. Accompanied by mantra-invocation, these cows should always be given at each festival, according to one’s faith. They grant both worldly enjoyment and ultimate liberation. In connection with the jaggery-cow, all these have been described—they are auspicious, remove sin, and bestow the complete fruit of sacrifice. Because the Viśoka Dvādaśī vow is the highest among vows, the jaggery-cow is especially praised as its component. At the solstice, equinox, during auspicious conjunctions, eclipses, and similar festivals, the jaggery-cow and the others should be given. This Viśoka Dvādaśī is supremely auspicious and removes all sin. Whoever observes it attains the supreme abode of Viṣṇu. In this world, they gain good fortune, long life, and health, and at the end of life, remembering Hari, they reach the city of Viṣṇu. For nine thousand and eighteen thousand years, O knower of dharma, they do not experience sorrow, suffering, or misfortune. Even a woman who observes the Viśoka Dvādaśī vow, always devoted to dance and song, attains the same fruit. Therefore, O king, one who desires prosperity should always perform endless singing and instrumental music before Hari, with supreme devotion. Whoever recites, truly hears, or witnesses the worship of Madhusūdana, the slayer of Mura, and gives with understanding, dwells in Indra’s world, honored by hosts of gods for a kalpa. Then, with a desire to know more, the devotee asks, “O Lord, tell me of the supreme glory of giving, that gift which is imperishable in the next world and honored by gods and sages.” The Lord replies, “I shall describe the gift of Meru in ten ways, O best of sages, by the giving of which a person attains worlds honored by the gods.