Shloka 28

Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa

Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation

Devanagari script

तस्मात्‌ पार्थ त्वमपीमां मयोक्तां बाहस्पतीं भारतीं धारयस्व । द्विजाग्रयेभ्य: सम्प्रयच्छस्व प्रीतो गा: पुण्या वै प्राप्य राज्यं कुरूणाम्‌,अतः कुन्तीनन्दन! तुम भी मेरे कहे हुए बृहस्पतिजीके इस उपदेशको धारण करो और कौरव-राज्यपर अधिकार पाकर उत्तम ब्राह्मणको प्रसन्नतापूर्वक पवित्र गौओंका दान करो

Transliteration

tasmāt pārtha tvam apīmāṁ mayoktāṁ bārhaspatīṁ bhāratīṁ dhārayasva | dvijāgrayebhyaḥ samprayacchasva prīto gāḥ puṇyā vai prāpya rājyaṁ kurūṇām ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „Darum, o Pārtha, halte auch du die Unterweisung des Bṛhaspati, die ich dir übermittelt habe, fest in deinem Herzen. Und wenn du die Herrschaft über das Reich der Kurus erlangt hast, so spende freudig heilige Kühe als Gabe an die Vornehmsten der Zweimalgeborenen—an die vortrefflichen Brāhmaṇas.“

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tasmāt', 'meaning': 'therefore

• for that reason'}, {'term': 'pārtha', 'meaning': 'O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)'}, {'term': 'api', 'meaning': 'also

• even'}, {'term': 'imām', 'meaning': 'this (teaching/instruction)'}, {'term': 'mayā uktām (mayoktām)', 'meaning': 'spoken by me

• conveyed by me'}, {'term': 'bārhaspatīm', 'meaning': 'belonging to Bṛhaspati

• taught by Bṛhaspati'}, {'term': 'bhāratīm', 'meaning': 'speech

• teaching (lit. ‘utterance’)'}, {'term': 'dhārayasva', 'meaning': 'hold fast

• keep in mind'}, {'term': 'dvijāgrayebhyaḥ', 'meaning': 'to the best among the twice-born

• to eminent brāhmaṇas'}, {'term': 'samprayacchasva', 'meaning': 'give

• offer (in charity)'}, {'term': 'prītaḥ', 'meaning': 'pleased

• with goodwill'}, {'term': 'gāḥ', 'meaning': 'cows'}, {'term': 'puṇyāḥ', 'meaning': 'meritorious

• auspicious'}, {'term': 'prāpya', 'meaning': 'having obtained

• after attaining'}, {'term': 'rājyam', 'meaning': 'kingship

• kingdom'}, {'term': 'kurūṇām', 'meaning': 'of the Kurus (the Kuru realm/people)'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Bṛhaspati
• Kuru kingdom (Kurūṇām)
• Brāhmaṇas (dvijāgraya)
• Cows (gāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma urges Arjuna to internalize the Bṛhaspati-derived counsel and to practice royal dharma through generous, willing charity—specifically the gifting of auspicious cows to eminent brāhmaṇas after attaining rightful sovereignty.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma—lying on his bed of arrows—continues instructing the Pāṇḍavas on dharma. Here he directly addresses Arjuna (Pārtha), telling him to uphold the teaching and, upon securing the Kuru kingdom, to honor leading brāhmaṇas with cow-gifts as part of righteous kingship.