Shloka 38
Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline
गाव ऊचु: बहुले समंगे हाकुतो5भये च क्षेमे च सख्येव हि भूयसी च । यथा पुरा ब्रह्मपुरे सवत्सा शतक्रतोर्वज्ञधरस्य यज्ञे
gāva ūcuḥ—bahule samaṅge akuto’bhaye ca kṣeme ca sakhīva hi bhūyasī ca | yathā purā brahmapure savatsā śatakrator vajradharasya yajñe ||
Die Kühe sprachen: „O Bahulā, Samaṅgā, Akuto’bhayā, Kṣemā, Sakhī und Bhūyasī — wie einst in Brahmapura beim Opfer des Śatakratu (Indra), des Trägers des Donnerkeils, die Kühe samt ihren Kälbern durch das Ausrufen eben dieser Namen gepriesen wurden.“
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the sanctity and protective value associated with cows, linking their welfare (kṣema) and fearlessness (akuto’bhayā) to a remembered sacred precedent: being honored in a divine sacrifice. Ethically, it frames reverence and care as part of dharma, reinforced through ritual memory and naming.
In Viśvāmitra’s account, the cows themselves speak and recall an earlier occasion in Brahmapura where, at Indra’s sacrifice, cows with their calves were praised by invoking specific names (Bahulā, Samaṅgā, Akuto’bhayā, Kṣemā, Sakhī, Bhūyasī). The recollection functions as authoritative precedent for their honored status.