Listen now to the sacred procedure for preparing and offering the symbolic cow and calf, as prescribed in the scriptures. First, a small antelope skin is prepared for the calf. The cow is placed facing east, with a vessel of water at her feet, and her calf is arranged beside her. The best kind of sweet cow for this ritual should weigh four units, while the calf is to be made with one unit. If a medium offering is intended, two units are used for the cow. For the simplest form, the calf is fashioned with half a unit in weight, or even a quarter unit for the most modest household; always, the portion given for the calf should be determined according to the means of the giver. Both the cow and the calf are to be beautifully adorned: their mouths formed of clarified butter, their bodies draped in fine white garments, with shells for ears and sugarcane for feet. Their eyes are to be crafted from pure pearls. Their hair is represented by white thread, their bodies covered with white blankets, their cheeks and backs adorned with copper, and they are to be decorated with white yak-tail hair. The eyebrows of both are made of coral, the udders of butter, the tails of linen, the milking vessels of bronze, and the pupils of their eyes of sapphire. Their horns are to be adorned with golden ornaments, their hooves with silver, and they should be festooned with various fruits. Fragrant containers are placed at their noses. After arranging these details with care and devotion, one should worship them with incense and lamps. Then, with reverence, prayers are offered: May the goddess who is Lakṣmī among all beings, 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 present within the body in the form of a cow, remove my sins. May the Lakṣmī who dwells on Viṣṇu’s chest, the Svāhā of the fire, the power of the moon, sun, and Indra—all in the form of a cow—bring me prosperity. May the Lakṣmī of Brahmā, the Lakṣmī of Kubera, and the Lakṣmī of the guardians of the worlds, in the form of a cow, bestow boons upon me. May the cow, who is Svadhā for the ancestors, Svāhā for the recipients of sacrifice, and the remover of all sins, grant me peace. Having thus addressed the cow with these invocations, one should present her to a Brahmin. This is the proper procedure for all such ritual cows. Now, hear of the ten cows renowned for destroying sin. Their forms and names are as follows: the first is the jaggery-cow, the second the ghee-cow, the third the sesame-cow, and the fourth the water-cow. Next are the milk-cow, the honey-cow, the sugar-cow, the curd-cow, the juice-cow, and finally, the one so by its own nature. For the liquid cows, pots are used in the ritual; for the others, heaps of the respective substances are formed. Some, O descendant of Bhanu, also desire to give a golden cow. Some great sages employ fresh butter and gems for the ritual, and these are considered the proper materials. Accompanied by the chanting of mantras, these cows should always be given during each festival, according to one’s faith. Such offerings grant both enjoyment in this world and liberation beyond. All these forms, especially as described in connection with the jaggery-cow, are auspicious, remove sin, and bestow the complete fruit of sacrifice. Because the Viśoka Dvādaśī vow is the highest among all vows, the jaggery-cow is especially praised as its essential element. At the solstices, equinoxes, auspicious conjunctions, eclipses, and similar festivals, the jaggery-cow and the other ritual cows should be given. This Viśoka Dvādaśī is supremely auspicious and destroys sin. Whoever observes it attains the supreme abode of Viṣṇu. In this world, such a person enjoys good fortune, long life, and health, and at the time of death, remembering Hari, reaches the city of Viṣṇu. For nine thousand or even eighteen thousand years, O knower of dharma, such a soul does not experience sorrow, suffering, or misfortune. Even a woman who observes the Viśoka Dvādaśī vow, always devoted to dance and song, attains the same blessed result. Therefore, O king, one who desires prosperity should always perform endless singing and instrumental music before Hari, with the highest devotion. Whoever recites or truly hears these instructions, 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. At this point, the king addresses the sage: “O Lord, I wish to hear of the supreme glory of giving—the kind that is imperishable in the next world and honored by gods and sages alike.” The sage replies, “I shall describe the gift of Meru in ten ways, O best of sages, by which a man attains worlds honored by the gods. The fruits described in the Purāṇas, the Vedas, the sacrifices, and the sacred shrines are not attained by merely studying or performing them. Therefore, I will explain the proper procedure for the giving of symbolic mountains, in order: the first is the Mountain of Grain, the second the Salt Mountain, the third the Mountain of Jaggery, the fourth the Mountain of Gold, the fifth the Mountain of Sesame, the sixth the Mountain of Cotton, the seventh the Mountain of Ghee, the eighth the Mountain of Jewels, the ninth the Mountain of Silver, and the tenth the Mountain of Sugar. I will describe the proper method for these: they should be given at the solstices, equinoxes, on auspicious occasions, during eclipses, or at the end of the day; on the third day of the bright fortnight, during a lunar eclipse, at the waning of the moon, at weddings, festivals, or sacrifices, or again on the twelfth day; on the fifteenth day of the bright fortnight, or under an auspicious constellation. The Mountains, beginning with Grain, should be given according to scriptural procedure by one who knows the rites. At a sacred ford, a temple, a cowshed, or in the courtyard of a house, one should, with devotion, construct a pavilion—square and facing north, sloping eastward or toward water, and also facing east as prescribed. On ground smeared with cow dung, spread kuśa grass, and in the midst of that, one should make the mountain, furnished with subsidiary hills. The best mountain is made with a thousand measures of grain; the middle one with five hundred, and the smallest with three hundred. Thus is the ritual of giving, in all its sacred detail, as revealed by the wise.