Shloka 29
Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share
यावन्ति रोमाणि भवन्ति धेन्वा- स्तावत् काल प्राप्प स गोप्रदानात् पुत्रांश्व पौत्रांश्ष कुलं च सर्व- मासप्तमं तारयते परत्र
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yāvanti romāṇi bhavanti dhenvāḥ tāvat kālaṁ prāpya sa gopradānāt | putrān ca pautrāṁś ca kulaṁ ca sarvam ā-saptamaṁ tārayate paratra ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: So viele Haare eine Kuh am Leib hat, so viele Jahre genießt ein Mensch—nachdem er die Frucht der Kuhspende erlangt hat—himmlisches Glück. Und nicht nur das: Die Gabe der Kuh selbst wird im Jenseits zum Mittel der Erlösung für seine Söhne, Enkel und die ganze Linie bis zur siebten Generation.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse extols go-dāna (gifting a cow) as a highly meritorious act: its spiritual reward is vast (symbolized by the cow’s hairs as a measure of years in heaven) and it is portrayed as benefiting not only the donor but also the donor’s descendants up to seven generations, emphasizing dharma through generosity and responsibility toward one’s lineage.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse on gifts and dharma, Vaiśampāyana reports a teaching that quantifies and magnifies the फल (result) of cow-gifting: the donor enjoys heavenly pleasure for an immense duration, and the act is said to ‘carry across’ the donor’s family line in the hereafter up to the seventh generation.