Shloka 39
Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)
अलाभे यो गवां दद्याद् घृतधेनुं यतव्रत: । तस्यैता घृतवाहिन्यः भरन्ते वत्सला इव,“जो गौओंके अभावमें संयम-नियमसे युक्त हो घृतधेनुका दान करता है, उसके लिये ये घृतवाहिनी नदियाँ वत्सला गौओंकी भाँति घृत बहाती हैं
alābhe yo gavāṁ dadyād ghṛtadhenūṁ yatavrataḥ | tasyaitā ghṛtavāhinyas bharante vatsalā iva ||
Naciketas said: When a disciplined person, steadfast in vows, offers a ‘ghee-cow’ in charity even in a time when actual cows are unavailable, then for him these rivers that flow with ghee pour forth abundance—like affectionate mother-cows streaming milk for their calves. The verse underscores that sincere intent, self-restraint, and dharmic giving bear fruit beyond material limitations.
नाचिकेत उवाच
Educational Q&A
True charity is measured by disciplined intention and dharmic resolve, not merely by material abundance. Even when resources are scarce, a sincere, vow-observing giver who offers an appropriate substitute (like the ghṛtadhenū) gains great merit, poetically expressed as rivers of ghee flowing for him.
Naciketas describes the fruit of a particular charitable act: when cows are unavailable, a restrained person donates a symbolic ‘ghee-cow.’ As a result, in the afterlife imagery of reward, ghee-flowing rivers become bountiful for him, like affectionate cows providing nourishment—illustrating the promised outcomes of dharmic giving.