Shloka 2
Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
भीष्म उवाच गावो महार्था: पुण्याश्ष॒ तारयन्ति च मानवान् | धारयन्ति प्रजाश्षेमा हविषा पयसा तथा
bhīṣma uvāca gāvo mahārthāḥ puṇyāś ca tārayanti ca mānavān | dhārayanti prajāḥ kṣemā haviṣā payasā tathā ||
قال بهيشما: «أيها الملك، إن الأبقار ذاتُ نفعٍ عظيم في الدنيا والروح، وهي في غاية الطهارة. إنها تُعين البشر على العبور (من الإثم والشدّة)، وبحليبها وبالسمن المصفّى (ghee) الذي يُستعمل في القرابين المقدّسة، تحفظ رفاه الكائنات وأمنها».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cows are presented as both materially beneficial and spiritually purifying: they sustain society through milk and support sacred rites through ghee, thereby promoting human welfare and moral-spiritual uplift.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king (Yudhishthira) within the Anushasana Parva, he praises the importance of cows, explaining their role in sustaining beings and enabling sacrificial offerings that uphold dharma.