Shloka 5
गवां लोकवर्णनं तथा गोप्रदानफलश्रुतिः
Description of the ‘World of Cows’ and the Stated Fruits of Cow-Gift
यो ब्रूयाच्चापि शिष्याय धर्म्या ब्राह्मीं सरस्वतीम् । पृथिवीगोप्रदानाभ्यां तुल्यं स फलमश्लुते
yo brūyāc cāpi śiṣyāya dharmyāṁ brāhmīṁ sarasvatīm | pṛthivī-gopradānābhyāṁ tulyaṁ sa phalam aśnute ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Wenn ein Brahmane seinen Schüler die dharmagemäße, brahmische Sarasvatī lehrt — die vedische Rede im Einklang mit dem Dharma —, so erlangt er Verdienst, das dem Geschenk von Land und dem Geschenk von Kühen gleichkommt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Teaching dharma-aligned Vedic speech/knowledge to a disciple is itself a supreme form of dāna; its spiritual merit is declared equal to the major gifts of land and cows.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises the act of a Brahmin instructing his disciple in sacred, righteous learning, framing it as an act whose reward matches celebrated charitable donations.