Shloka 42
नान्यदा गच्छते यस्तु ब्रह्मचर्य च तत् स्मृतम् । अमृतं ब्राह्मणा गाव इत्येतत् त्रयमेकत: । तस्माद् गोब्राद्मणं नित्यमर्चयेत यथाविधि
bhīṣma uvāca | nānyadā gacchate yas tu brahmacaryaṃ ca tat smṛtam | amṛtaṃ brāhmaṇā gāva ity etat trayam ekataḥ | tasmād gobrāhmaṇaṃ nityam arcayet yathāvidhi |
Bhishma sprach: Wer sich einer Frau zu keiner Zeit nähert außer zur rechten Jahreszeit, von dem heißt es, er übe brahmacarya. Amṛta (Nektar), der Brāhmaṇa und die Kuh—diese drei werden als aus einer einzigen Quelle hervorgegangen erklärt. Darum soll man Kuh und Brāhmaṇa stets ehren und sie nach den vorgeschriebenen Riten verehren.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links personal discipline (regulated sexual conduct termed brahmacarya) with social-religious duty: honoring the cow and the Brāhmaṇa as sacred supports of dharma, to be revered according to prescribed norms.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he defines a form of brahmacarya in practical terms and then grounds a duty of worship: since amṛta, the Brāhmaṇa, and the cow are treated as sharing a single sacred origin, one should continually venerate the cow and the Brāhmaṇa.