Shloka 25
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
वैश्यस्यैते यदि गुणास्तस्य पठचशतं भवेत् । शूद्रस्यापि विनीतस्य चतुर्भागफलं स्मृतम्
vaiśyasyāite yadi guṇās tasya pañcaśataṁ bhavet | śūdrasyāpi vinītasya caturbhāgaphalaṁ smṛtam |
ভীষ্ম বললেন—যদি বৈশ্যের মধ্যেও এই গুণগুলি থাকে, তবে তার ফল গণ্য হয় পাঁচশো (গাভী-দানের) সমান—যদিও বাহ্যত দান একটিমাত্র গাভী। আর বিনীত, সংযত শূদ্রের জন্য স্মৃতিতে চতুর্থাংশ ফল বলা হয়েছে—দুইশো পঞ্চাশ গাভী-দানের তুল্য।
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The merit of a gift is not determined only by the object given, but by the giver’s inner virtues and discipline; ethical refinement increases the spiritual fruit even for those outside the Brahmin class.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dāna-dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, he explains graded results of cow-gifting: a virtuous Vaiśya gains merit equated to five hundred cows, and a humble, well-disciplined Śūdra gains a quarter-share of the Brahmin-standard merit (stated as two hundred and fifty cows in the received explanation).