Shloka 176
अदेया नन्दिनीयं वै राज्येनापि तवानघ । वसिष्ठजीने कहा--अनघ! देवता, अतिथि और पितरोंकी पूजा एवं यज्ञके हविष्य आदिके लिये यह दुधारू गाय नन्दिनी अपने यहाँ रहती है, इसे तुम्हारा राज्य लेकर भी नहीं दिया जा सकता
adeyā nandinīyaṁ vai rājyena api tavānagha |
Vasiṣṭha said: “O blameless one, this cow Nandinī is not to be given away—not even in exchange for your entire kingdom. She remains here for sacred purposes: the worship of the gods, the honoring of guests, the rites for the ancestors, and the offerings of oblations in sacrifice. Therefore, even sovereignty cannot purchase her.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Certain things are protected by dharma and sacred obligation and therefore cannot be traded, even for immense worldly gain. Vasiṣṭha frames Nandinī as integral to worship, hospitality, ancestral rites, and sacrifice—duties that uphold social and cosmic order—so political power cannot override religious-ethical responsibility.
Vasiṣṭha refuses to part with his cow Nandinī. He declares that she is indispensable for ritual and moral duties (devatā-pūjā, honoring guests, pitṛ-kārya, and sacrificial offerings), and thus cannot be surrendered even if offered a kingdom in return.