Shloka 43
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
धृतराष्ट उवाच यो गोसहस्री शतद: समां समां गवां शती दश दद्याच्च शक्त्या । तथा दशभ्यो यश्न दद्यादिहैकां पज्चभ्यो वा दानशीलस्तथैकाम्
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yo gosaḥasrī śatadaḥ samāṃ samāṃ gavāṃ śatī daśa dadyāc ca śaktyā | tathā daśabhyo yaś ca dadyād ihaikāṃ pañcabhyo vā dānaśīlas tathaikām |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: He who possesses a thousand cows and, year after year, gives away a hundred; he who owns a hundred and, according to his means, gives ten; and he who has only ten yet gives one cow here—or even the generous man who gives one out of five—such a giver attains the world of cows (Goloka).
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity is measured by proportion and sincerity, not sheer wealth: giving according to one’s capacity—whether from a thousand, a hundred, ten, or five—earns religious merit and leads to a blessed posthumous state associated with cows (Goloka).
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks about the merit of gifting cows, specifying graded examples of donors at different levels of wealth and affirming the spiritual reward for such giving.