Shloka 37
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
अभावे यो गवां दद्यात् तिलधेनुं यतव्रत: । दुर्गात् स तारितो थेन्वा क्षीरनद्यां प्रमोदते
abhāve yo gavāṁ dadyāt tiladhenuṁ yatavrataḥ | durgāt sa tārito dhenuvā kṣīranadyāṁ pramodate ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Ein selbstbeherrschter Mann, der seinen Gelübden treu ist und—wenn keine wirklichen Kühe verfügbar sind—eine ‘Sesamkuh’ (tiladhenu) als Gabe spendet, wird durch Verdienst und Beistand dieser Spende über schwer zugängliche Gefahren hinübergetragen und erfreut sich dann am Ufer eines Flusses, der Milch führt.“
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when ideal resources are unavailable, a disciplined person should still uphold dāna-dharma through an appropriate substitute; sincere charity, performed with restraint and right intention, becomes a means of protection from संकट and yields auspicious posthumous reward.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on gifts and धर्म, he explains the फल (result) of donating a tiladhenu when cows cannot be obtained: the donor is metaphorically ‘carried across’ dangers by that merit and attains a blissful realm symbolized by a river of milk.