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Shloka 9

Adhyāya 138: Vāyu’s Exempla on Brāhmaṇa-Prabhāva and a Cosmological Clarification

तस्य तत्र चतुर्भागो यो ददाति गवाद्विकम्‌

tasya tatra caturbhāgo yo dadāti gavādvikam

Maheśvara sprach: „In dieser Sache erlangt, wer einer Kuh regelmäßig Nahrung darbringt, ein Viertel des Verdienstes, das aus dem unablässigen Dienst an den Kühen erwächst. Denn Kühe besitzen gewaltige geistige Wirkkraft und sind wohltätig, Spenderinnen von Gaben; wenn man sie verehrt, gewähren sie die ersehnten Ergebnisse, indem sie die Erfüllung der Frucht der Taten billigen und fördern.“

तस्यof him/its
तस्य:
Sambandha
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormMasculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular
तत्रthere/in that matter
तत्र:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतत्र
चतुर्भागःa fourth part/one quarter
चतुर्भागः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootचतुर्भाग
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
यःwho/which
यः:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootयद्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
ददातिgives
ददाति:
TypeVerb
Rootदा (दाने)
FormPresent (Lat), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada
गवाद्विकम्a pair of cows (cow-couple)
गवाद्विकम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootगवाद्विक
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular

महेश्वर उवाच

M
Maheśvara (Śiva)
C
cow (go)

Educational Q&A

Regularly feeding and serving cows is presented as a dharmic act that yields spiritual merit; even the specific act of giving food to a cow grants a defined share—one quarter—of the merit associated with ongoing cow-service, emphasizing disciplined, compassionate giving.

Maheśvara is explaining the religious efficacy of honoring cows: cows are described as powerful and boon-giving, and he quantifies the merit gained by a person who habitually feeds cows, linking the practice to the attainment of desired fruits of action.