Is Kanyadanam a Symbol of Male Chauvinism?

In Shiva Purna, we have been seeing the importance of place, time, and quality of recipients when offering something as daana.

We have seen that those who accept daana as a profession, out of compulsion as livelihood—giving to them will get 10 years of comfort on earth. Compared to that, giving to someone who has learned Veda and who chants Veda mantra on an ongoing basis—giving to him would give 10 divine years of comfort in swarh. That is 10,000 human years in swarga.

10,000 times more meritorious and enjoyments of swarga compared to worldly enjoyments. That too, if he has done 24 lacs japa of Gayatri mantra, then 10 divine years of stay in Satya Loka—the highest of all punya lokas.

If the eligible recipient is a Vishnu bhakta, then the giver will go to Vaikuntha. If he is a Shiva bhakta, then Kailasa.

There is something called Dashanga Anna Danam—anna danam with ten steps. This is not the general anna danam. In this, a Vedic scholar only is offered bhojana.

The ten steps are:

1. Approaching him with respect and formally inviting him for bhojana.

2. Washing his feet.

3. Offering oil for applying before bath.

4. Offering clothes after bath.

5. Offering chandana and other upacharas.

6. Offering delicious food.

7. Offering tambool.

8. Offering dakshina.

9. Offering namaskara and accompanying him back home.

If you do this with a single Brahmin on a Sunday, then you get 10 years of healthy life in paraloka. If you do this with 10 Brahmins on a Sunday, then 100 years of healthy living.

We have already seen that every day of the week has certain specific qualities associated with it—like Monday, wealth; Tuesday, relief from diseases. If you do Dashanga Anna Danam on any day, you will get the benefit associated with that day.

Sunday is associated with health. That's why Dashanga Anna Danam on Sunday gives health in paraloka. Like this—Monday, wealth—meaning 10 years of wealthy living in paraloka if you feed one person on Monday. Like that for other days also. Feed one person, get benefit for 10 years. It goes on like that—feed 10, get 100 years.

Another thing you have to understand here—it is not Brahmin as a caste. It is about the Veda that resides inside him. You get benefit when Veda resides inside that person and the energy the food gives, he will use for chanting and other dharmik activities.

Janma matra brahmana—Brahmin only by birth—will have some quality in him, inherited because of the good deeds his predecessors have done, which goes down up to fourteen generations through the thread which is the beeja, sperm, which runs down generations.

As I have explained elsewhere, your present body has in it 7 generations including six before you. That's what your body is made up of. That single sperm which has grown into your body had in it prints or parts of six generations before that also.

If you want intelligence, feed children and dedicate it to Brahma.
If you want progeny, feed youngsters and dedicate it to Vishnu.
If you want spiritual knowledge, feed the elderly and dedicate it to Rudra.
If you want wisdom, power of discretion, feed young girls and dedicate it to Saraswathy.
If you want wealth, feed girls in their teens or in their twenties.
If you want emancipation of Atma, then feed elderly women and dedicate it to Parvathy Devi.

Now, the lunar months—you can offer particular specific items in each of the lunar months which will be even more beneficial.

In the month of Chaitra, Godana is highly beneficial.
When you do Godana, make sure that the milk will be used for doing abhisheka or preparing naivedya for Bhagawan, or it will be used by students of Vedic Gurukul.
See, the energy from that milk will be used for chanting of Vedas—that is the whole point.

Today, we have this Godana for name's sake. Someone will bring a cow for a fixed cost, make you do the ritual, and then take it back after collecting the money. The same cow goes from house to house for this. Don't do this—it will not get you benefit.

The milk should be actually put for divine use—then only it helps.
If you can't find such a place or a person, then donate towards a goshala where the milk is put for divine use—not to commercial dairy farms—places where it will be used for divine purpose exclusively.

Go samrakshana is different—taking care of cows, feeding them is always good, irrespective of whether it is a commercial farm or not. That is go samrakshana. Godana, the principle is different.

Godana gets rid of sins of all three levels—physical, mental, and verbal—and also strengthens whatever you do with your body, mind, and words.

If you want position and support of powerful people here and hereafter, do bhumi daana in the month of Vaishakha.

Sesame seeds—tila—daana of tila in the lunar month Jyeshta is very auspicious. It increases your strength and power—physical, mental, monetary—and also would ward off untimely death.

Do daana of gold in the month Ashada if you have poor appetite and digestion.

Daana of ghee in the month of Shravana will give pushti, progress, and stability.

Giving away clothes during Bhadrapada will give long life.

Doing daana of grains—rice, wheat, barley—in the month of Ashwina will get you abundance of wealth and also food.

Daana of jaggery in the month of Karthika will get you constant supply of delicious food.

If someone is suffering from defect in semen—like low sperm count or motility issues—he should do daana of silver in the month of Margasheersha.

In the month of Paushya, daana of salt also will assure tasty food always.

In the month of Magha, daana of white pumpkin—kushmanda—will get you prosperity and progress.

And in the Phalguna, doing kanya dana is very, very auspicious.

Once a girl asked me—are we some kind of objects to be given away in daana?
Isn't this male chauvinism?

That's because you don't understand the concept of kanya dana.

A man cannot live a virtuous life, observe dharma alone. His sahadharmini is necessary.
To equip an eligible bachelor with a sahadharmini—a patni—so that together they can set out on the path of virtuous living is kanya dana.
What better meritorious deed can the parents of a girl do?

They together are going to worship the gods, forefathers, feed the needy, take care of plants, animals, birds, nature, and constantly learn and increase the knowledge.
This is virtuous living. Kanya dana is the starting point of this virtuous living.

Giving Gomata in daana doesn't make her any inferior—rather it brings to attention her glory.
Same with others also we discussed here.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi