Shloka 49
Nṛga-upākhyāna: Brāhmaṇa-sva and the Consequence of Misappropriated Gift-Cattle (कृकलास-रूपे नृगोपाख्यानम्)
प्राणा वै प्राणिनामेते प्रोच्यन्ते भरतर्षभ । तस्माद् ददाति यो थेनुं प्राणानेष प्रयच्छति
prāṇā vai prāṇinām ete procyante bharatarṣabha | tasmād dadāti yo dhenuṁ prāṇān eṣa prayacchati ||
ভীষ্ম বললেন—হে ভরতশ্রেষ্ঠ! এই গাভীগণ প্রাণীদের ‘প্রাণ’ বলে কথিত, কারণ তারা পুষ্টি দিয়ে জীবন ধারণ করায়। অতএব যে দুধেল গাভী দান করে, সে যেন প্রাণদানই করে।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That giving a milch cow is ethically equivalent to giving life itself, because cows sustain and preserve the lives of others through nourishment; thus go-dāna is praised as a supreme form of dāna.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the fruits of various gifts. Here he emphasizes the exceptional merit of donating a milk-giving cow by equating it with prāṇa-dāna (the gift of life).