Shloka 313
Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)
तस्मात्तु कपिला देया कौमुद्रां ज्येष्ठपुष्करे । ब्रह्म हत्याके समान जो कोई पाप होता है
tasmāttu kapilā deyā kaumudrāṁ jyeṣṭha-puṣkare |
Yama sprach: Darum soll man am Vollmondtag des Monats Kārtika in Jyeṣṭha‑Puṣkara eine fahlbraune (kapilā) Kuh als Gabe spenden. Es wird gelehrt, dass diese eine Spende selbst Sünden so schwer wie brahmahatyā (die Tötung eines Brāhmaṇa) reinigt, und dass die Gabe einer einzigen Kuh an Verdienst hundert gewöhnlichen Kuhspenden gleichkommt. Der ethische Sinn ist: Dāna, aufrichtig, zur rechten Zeit und am rechten Ort, im Glauben vollzogen, besitzt außerordentliche reinigende Kraft und stützt die Ordnung des Dharma.
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the exceptional purificatory and merit-giving power of properly performed dāna—specifically, donating a kapilā cow at the sacred place Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara on Kārtika Pūrṇimā—said to cleanse even extremely grave sins and to equal the merit of many ordinary cow-gifts.
In Yama’s discourse on dharma and religious duties, he prescribes a specific act of charity tied to a particular time (Kārtika full moon) and place (Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara), emphasizing its extraordinary efficacy as expiation and as a source of puṇya.