Shloka 11
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
गावो ममैन: प्रणुदन्तु सौर्या- स्तथा सौम्या: स्वर्गयानाय सनन््तु । आत्मानं मे मातृवच्चा श्रयन्तु यथानुक्ता: सन्तु सर्वाशिषो मे
gāvo mamainaḥ praṇudantu sauryās tathā saumyāḥ svargayānāya sanantu | ātmānaṃ me mātṛvac cāśrayantu yathānuktāḥ santu sarvāśiṣo me ||
قال بهيشما: «لتطرد الأبقار—المتجلّية من أنصبة الشمس والقمر—إثمي. ولتُيَسِّر لي المسير إلى السماء وإلى عوالم أخرى فاضلة. ولتمنحني ملجأً كالأم. وبفضل “أمّ البقر”، لتتحقق جميع بركاتي ورغباتي—ما نُطق به في هذه المانترا وما تُرك غير منطوق.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the cow as a sacred refuge and a source of purification: honoring and seeking the grace of cows is portrayed as dispelling moral demerit (enaḥ), supporting auspicious destiny (svarga-yāna), and fulfilling both expressed and unexpressed righteous wishes.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction (Anuśāsana Parva), he utters a prayer/benediction invoking cows—linked symbolically to the Sun and Moon—to remove sin, grant maternal protection, and aid his (and by extension the listener’s) attainment of higher worlds and desired blessings.