Shloka 25

गवां लोकवर्णनं तथा गोप्रदानफलश्रुतिः

Description of the ‘World of Cows’ and the Stated Fruits of Cow-Gift

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच असदृवृत्ताय पापाय लुब्धायानृतवादिने । हव्यकव्यव्यपेताय न देया गौ: कथंचन

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca asadṛvṛttāya pāpāya lubdhāyānṛtavādine | havyakavyavyapetāya na deyā gauḥ kathaṃcana ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: Niemals soll man einem Menschen eine Kuh schenken, dessen Wandel verwerflich ist—einem Sünder, Gierigen und Lügner—noch einem, der ohne Ehrfurcht gegenüber den heiligen Opfergaben (havis) und den Ahnenriten (kavya) ist.

Word by Word

• भीष्मः: Bhishma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• असदृवृत्ताय: to one of improper conduct
• असदृवृत्ताय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असदृवृत्त
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• पापाय: to a sinful person
• पापाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• लुब्धाय: to a greedy person
• लुब्धाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लुब्ध
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• अनृतवादिने: to a speaker of falsehood
• अनृतवादिने: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनृतवादिन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• हव्यकव्यव्यपेताय: to one excluded from havya and kavya (oblations to gods and ancestors)
• हव्यकव्यव्यपेताय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हव्यकव्यव्यपेत
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• देया: to be given / should be given
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देय
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• गौः: a cow
• गौः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• कथंचन: in any way / ever (at all)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• cow (gauḥ)
• havya (divine oblations)
• kavya (ancestral offerings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma teaches that gifts—especially a cow, a high-merit gift—must be given with discernment: one should not donate to recipients who are immoral, greedy, untruthful, or disrespectful toward sacred and ancestral rites, because such giving undermines the ethical purpose of dāna.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma lays down a rule about proper recipients of gifts, warning that a cow should not be bestowed upon unworthy persons characterized by bad conduct, falsehood, greed, and neglect of ritual obligations.