Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.20.28
मृगाञ्छुक्लदत: कृष्णान् हिरण्येन परीवृतान् ।
अदात् कर्मणि मष्णारे नियुतानि चतुर्दश ॥ २८ ॥
mṛgāṣ chukla-dataḥ kṛṣṇān
[mrigaash chukla-datah krishnaan]
hiraṇyena parīvṛtān
[hiranyena pareevritaan]
adāt karmaṇi maṣṇāre
[adaat karmani mashnaare]
niyutāni caturdaśa
[niyutaani chaturdasha]
Word-for-word
mṛgān
—
first-class elephants
śukla-dataḥ
—
with very white tusks
kṛṣṇān
—
with black bodies
hiraṇyena
—
with gold ornaments
parīvṛtān
—
completely covered
adāt
—
give in charity
karmaṇi
—
in the sacrifice
maṣṇāre
—
by the name Maṣṇāra, or in the place known as Maṣṇāra
niyutāni
—
lakhs (one lakh equals one hundred thousand)
caturdaśa
—
fourteen.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
mṛgāṣ chukla-dataḥ kṛṣṇān
mṛgān
first-class elephants
śukla-dataḥ
with very white tusks
kṛṣṇān
with black bodies
hiraṇyena parīvṛtān
hiraṇyena
with gold ornaments
parīvṛtān
completely covered
adāt karmaṇi maṣṇāre
adāt
give in charity
karmaṇi
in the sacrifice
maṣṇāre
by the name Maṣṇāra, or in the place known as Maṣṇāra
niyutāni caturdaśa
niyutāni
lakhs (one lakh equals one hundred thousand)
caturdaśa
fourteen.
When Mahārāja Bharata performed the sacrifice known as Maṣṇāra [or a sacrifice in the place known as Maṣṇāra], he gave in charity fourteen lakhs of excellent elephants with white tusks and black bodies, completely covered with golden ornaments.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
When Mahārāja Bharata performed the sacrifice known as Maṣṇāra (or a sacrifice in the place known as Maṣṇāra), he gave in charity 1,400,000 excellent elephants with white tusks and black bodies, completely covered with golden ornaments.
Mṛgān means the best elephants. Bhadra, mantra, and mṛga are species of elephants. Maṣnāra refers a holy place or a particular ritual according to some. Śruti says:
hiraṇyena parivṛtān kṛṣṇān śukla-dato mṛgān maṣṇāre bharato ’ddācchataṁ baddhāni sapta ca
Bharata gave a hundred and seven baddhas of black elephants with white tusks, covered with gold at Maṣnāra. Ṛg Veda, Aitareya Brāhmaṇa 8.23.3
107 baddhas is 1,400,000 which is what Śukadeva says. Dividing 1,400,00 by 107 one gets 13,084 (approximately).
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
At the Maṣṇāra sacrifice, Bharata gives away fourteen lakh elephants — white tusks, black bodies, golden ornaments. Even our most lavish modern gifts are pale compared to what scripture treats as routine devotional spending.
Reflection Questions
- What is my own routine devotional spending compared to my routine personal spending?
- Where could I bring those two budgets into a more honest ratio?
My note
Source: vedabase.io