Shloka 65

Devanagari script

कपिलानां सवत्सानां वर्षमेक॑ निरन्तरम्‌ | यो दद्यात्‌ सुकृतं तद्धि श्रवणात्‌ कर्णपर्वण:,लगातार एक वर्षतक प्रतिदिन जो बछड़ोंसहित कपिला गौओंका दान करता है, उसे जिस पुण्यकी प्राप्ति होती है, वही कर्णपर्वके श्रवणमात्रसे मिल जाता है

Transliteration

kapilānāṁ savatsānāṁ varṣam ekaṁ nirantaram | yo dadyāt sukṛtaṁ tad dhi śravaṇāt karṇaparvaṇaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Das Verdienst, das ein Mensch erlangen würde, wenn er ein volles Jahr lang ununterbrochen kapilāfarbene, fahlbraune Kühe samt ihren Kälbern verschenkte—eben dieses Verdienst wird schon durch das bloße Anhören der Karṇa-Parva gewonnen.“

Word by Word

कपिलानाम्of tawny (kapilā) cows

सवत्सानाम्of (those) with calves

वर्षम्for a year

एकम्one

निरन्तरम्continuously, without break

यःwho

दद्यात्should give

सुकृतम्merit, good deed (result)

तत्that

हिindeed, for

श्रवणात्from hearing, by (mere) hearing

कर्णपर्वणःof the Karṇa-parvan (Karna section/book)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Karṇa Parva

kapilā cows

calves

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Reverent listening to the Mahābhārata—here specifically the Karṇa Parva—is presented as a powerful dharmic practice, yielding merit comparable to an extended, costly charity (donating tawny cows with calves daily for a year).

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana states a śravaṇa-phala (benefit of hearing) claim: the spiritual reward of a major year-long gift is said to be attainable through the act of listening to the Karṇa Parva.