Shloka 27

Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share

Devanagari script

सुवर्णशंगैस्तु विराजितानां गवां सहस्नस्यथ नर: प्रदानात्‌ । प्राप्नोति पुण्यं दिवि देवलोक- मित्येवमाहुर्दिवि देवसंघा:,'सोनेसे मढ़े हुए सींगोंद्वारा सुशोभित होनेवाली एक हजार गौओंका दान करनेसे मनुष्य स्वर्गमें पुण्यमय देवलोकको प्राप्त होता है--ऐसा स्वर्गवासी देववृन्द कहते हैं

Transliteration

suvarṇaśaṅgais tu virājitānāṁ gavāṁ sahasrasya atha naraḥ pradānāt | prāpnoti puṇyaṁ divi devalokam ity evam āhur divi devasaṅghāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: By gifting a thousand cows whose horns are adorned with gold, a man gains merit and reaches the divine world in heaven—so declare the assemblies of gods who dwell in the celestial realm.

Word by Word

{'suvarṇa''gold', 'śaṅga': 'horn (of a cow)

here in plural as ‘horns’', 'suvarṇaśaṅgaiḥ''with gold-adorned horns (instrumental plural)', 'tu': 'indeed

but (emphatic particle)', 'virājitānām''of those that are splendid/adorned (genitive plural)', 'gavām': 'of cows (genitive plural)', 'sahasrasya': 'of a thousand (genitive singular

‘a thousand [cows]’)', 'atha''then

moreover (connective particle)', 'naraḥ''a man

person', 'pradānāt''from the act of giving

by donation (ablative)', 'prāpnoti''attains

obtains', 'puṇyam''merit

auspicious reward', 'divi''in heaven

in the sky (locative)', 'devalokam''the world of the gods

celestial realm', 'iti''thus (quotative)', 'evam': 'in this manner

so', 'āhuḥ''they say

they declare', 'devasaṅghāḥ''companies/assemblies of gods', 'divi devasaṅghāḥ': 'the divine hosts in heaven (locative + nominative)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

cows (gavāḥ)

gold (suvarṇa)

heaven (div)

Devaloka

assemblies of gods (devasaṅghāḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that generous, ritually valued charity—specifically the grand gift of a thousand cows adorned with gold—produces puṇya (religious merit) and is traditionally believed to lead to attainment of Devaloka (the celestial world).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports a traditional claim attributed to the heavenly gods: that performing a major act of donation (sahasra-go-dāna) results in heavenly reward. It functions as an authoritative endorsement of dāna within the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma.